Barclays Boosts KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $630.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $550.00 to $630.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KLAC. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $720.42.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $706.26 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $369.00 and a one year high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $685.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $599.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 103.31%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.