KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Upgraded to “Buy” at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has $750.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $809.10.

KLA Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $716.25 on Monday. KLA has a 52 week low of $552.85 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $651.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $726.56. The company has a market cap of $95.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 14,823 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,340,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in KLA by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 699 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 885 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.