KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $799.58.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

KLA Trading Down 0.5%

KLAC traded down $3.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $773.97. 932,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,088,960. The company has a market cap of $102.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $699.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $693.61.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,473,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,597,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 350 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 41,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $28,400,000 after purchasing an additional 11,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,947 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.