KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $804.57.

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company.

KLA Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $673.61 on Tuesday. KLA has a one year low of $452.01 and a one year high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $769.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $764.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 29.13 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in KLA by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

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.