KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $748.00 at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $703.00 to $748.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $831.68.

KLA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $740.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $675.96 and its 200-day moving average is $716.33. KLA has a 1 year low of $595.86 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities analysts expect that KLA will post 30.8 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in KLA by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 294.3% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 138 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.