KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Increased to $760.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $685.00 to $760.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday. They set an outperform rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $688.42.

KLA Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $628.16 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $84.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a 52 week low of $355.88 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $684.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $592.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.