KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $698.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $692.00 to $698.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James reissued an outperform rating and issued a $750.00 target price (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $720.42.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $706.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. KLA has a 1-year low of $369.00 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $685.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $601.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in KLA by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA boosted its stake in KLA by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

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.