KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Trading 3.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s share price traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $743.95 and last traded at $742.27. 158,278 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,093,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $809.10.

KLA Trading Up 7.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $102.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $651.44 and its 200 day moving average is $726.56.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in KLA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.