KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• KLA Corporation's stock recently achieved a new 52-week high of $1,157.61, with a closing price of $1,152.66 and a trading volume of 343,832 shares.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for KLA, with price targets ranging from $1,070.00 to $1,300.00, indicating a bullish outlook on the stock's performance.
• KLA announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 25.01%.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,157.61 and last traded at $1,152.66, with a volume of 343832 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,106.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $922.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of KLA from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,040.65.

KLA Stock Up 4.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $151.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $980.52 and a 200 day moving average of $865.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%.The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% 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. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total transaction of $12,090,654.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,128,418. This represents a 33.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522 in the last ninety days. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% during 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 bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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.

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