KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $720.42.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $706.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA has a 52 week low of $369.00 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $685.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $600.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 103.31%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.