KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• KLA Corporation shares hit a new 52-week high of $951.31, closing at $945.46 with a volume of 124,386 shares.
• Analysts have issued varying ratings with JPMorgan raising its price target from $900 to $1,070, while the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and target price of $890.59.
• KLA announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share and a share repurchase plan allowing for up to $5.00 billion in stock buybacks.

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $951.31 and last traded at $945.46, with a volume of 124386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $935.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $894.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $776.44. The company has a market capitalization of $124.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,221,230,000 after purchasing an additional 80,154 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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