Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $890.5882.
A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLAC
Insider Transactions at KLA
In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in KLA by 4,100.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.
KLA Stock Performance
NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $914.80 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $888.42 and its 200 day moving average is $774.20. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.60 EPS. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.
KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
KLA Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.
KLA Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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