KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $725.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $700.00 to $725.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $696.58.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $672.95 on Tuesday. KLA has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $91.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $684.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $598.13.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 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.