KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $805.29.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $381,000. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth $312,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $904,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $817.84 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $806.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $742.98. The company has a market cap of $110.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.