KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine 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 objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $804.57.

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $720,936,000 after buying an additional 211,227 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after buying an additional 192,849 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in KLA by 136.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,667,000 after buying an additional 178,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its stake in KLA by 56.2% in the 1st quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 302,782 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $211,514,000 after buying an additional 108,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $829.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $774.25 and its 200-day moving average is $765.24. KLA has a 12-month low of $452.01 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 29.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.