KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $900.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target upped by TD Cowen from $800.00 to $900.00 in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a hold rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KLAC. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $886.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.44. KLA has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $875.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $769.31.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its stake in KLA by 1.2% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 4.6% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors grew its stake in KLA by 1.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.