KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $840.33.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth about $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $933.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $942.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $841.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $748.68.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.