KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $832.17.

KLA Stock Down 7.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $716.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $699.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.