Analysts Set KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target at $812.80

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $812.80.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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.

KLA Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $758.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $772.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $755.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Swedbank AB bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in KLA by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after buying an additional 301,848 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in KLA by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,936,000 after buying an additional 211,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after acquiring an additional 192,849 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.