KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $760.00 to $590.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company's stock.
Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $804.67.
Read Our Latest Report on KLA
KLA Stock Up 0.8 %
KLA stock traded up $5.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $694.61. The stock had a trading volume of 631,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,719. KLA has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The business's 50 day moving average price is $685.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $685.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.
KLA Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related 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 value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of KLA
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About KLA
(
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.
See Also
Before you consider KLA, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and KLA wasn't on the list.
While KLA currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Enter your email address and below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
