KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Now Covered by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 price objective on the semiconductor company's stock.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a buy rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $688.42.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock traded up $14.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $693.31. The stock had a trading volume of 922,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,091. The stock has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $683.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $590.78. KLA has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company's revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.