KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $806.35 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $812.47.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in KLA by 655.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after acquiring an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after acquiring an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $749.82 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $666.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $722.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $581.70 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

About KLA

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.