KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $960.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $775.00 to $960.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $852.56.

KLA Stock Down 4.9%

KLAC stock traded down $45.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $892.22. 1,618,810 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,136,427. The firm's 50 day moving average is $850.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $754.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $117.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $945.87.

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in KLA by 4,100.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.