KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s stock price shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $743.95 and last traded at $742.27. 158,278 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,093,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.60.

KLA Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $654.99 and its 200-day moving average is $726.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $101.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,849,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in KLA by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,508 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Paradiem LLC raised its position in KLA by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 9,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 749 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.