KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $802.74 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $802.74.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $994,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 43.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth approximately $310,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 172,389 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $133,500,000 after acquiring an additional 8,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.7 %

KLAC traded down $4.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $693.29. 811,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $679.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.49. The stock has a market cap of $92.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

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.