KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $850.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price upped by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $725.00 to $850.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays reduced their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.32.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $738.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 1-year low of $581.70 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $675.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $716.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.34 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in KLA by 32,828.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after buying an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in KLA by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after acquiring an additional 286,015 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $185,397,000 after acquiring an additional 235,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in KLA by 10,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 228,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $176,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.