KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $860.00 to $950.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. KLA traded as high as $835.05 and last traded at $834.55, with a volume of 149848 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $824.84.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,136 shares of company stock worth $24,016,781 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,719 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,127,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 35.3% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,110,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 316,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,234,000 after purchasing an additional 31,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $731.94 and its 200-day moving average is $664.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.