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

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $740.00 to $950.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. KLA traded as high as $914.83 and last traded at $893.00, with a volume of 1333943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $892.38.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $807.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in KLA by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake in KLA by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $744.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $712.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.