Stifel Nicolaus Raises KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $760.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $685.00 to $760.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $688.42.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $644.22 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $684.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $591.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a 12 month low of $355.88 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

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 value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.