KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives “Neutral” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $950.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a buy rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $806.24.

KLA Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $787.39 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $809.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $717.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.25, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.