KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $688.42.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $683.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $595.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $85.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA grew its position in KLA by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,754,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.