KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $830.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $830.67.

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $716.46 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $729.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $704.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. KLA has a 12 month low of $609.40 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its position in KLA by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.