KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $1,450.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $1,060.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price target (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $1,115.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $1,120.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,228.29.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $1,208.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.50. KLA has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $1,284.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,037.12 and a 200-day moving average of $902.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.47 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 113.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.33 EPS. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,128,418. This represents a 33.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock valued at $29,313,522 in the last quarter. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth $26,473,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 37.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 41,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,400,000 after buying an additional 11,442 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,370 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,128,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth $1,020,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 46.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 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.