Brokerages Set KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target at $688.42

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $696.58.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 2.5 %

KLA stock opened at $672.95 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $684.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $598.13. 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 $91.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $355.88 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for 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%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

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.