KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) PT Raised to $800.00 at Barclays

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $765.00 to $800.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna dropped their target price on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $802.80.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $762.81 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $808.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $714.17. KLA has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $102.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 106.27% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business 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 forecast that KLA will post 28.18 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.6% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About KLA

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.