KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $578.07 and last traded at $583.69, with a volume of 124375 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $620.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA Trading Down 5.9 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $720.07 and its 200 day moving average is $701.18. The stock has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of KLA by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.