KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $815.39.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $13.07 on Friday, reaching $889.87. 1,175,356 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,128,467. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $778.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $724.13. The firm has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.40. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced 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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents 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 Trading of KLA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth $55,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 4.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,221 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $15,787,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in KLA by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,211 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $45,502,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $32,178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.