KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $775.00 to $960.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. KLA traded as high as $945.87 and last traded at $931.88, with a volume of 682033 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $937.08.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on KLAC. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $852.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in KLA by 4,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $124.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $754.52. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication 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.