KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $804.57 Average Target Price from Brokerages

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $804.57.

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $670.25 on Tuesday. KLA has a 52 week low of $452.01 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $772.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $764.07.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

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.