KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $655.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target increased by Susquehanna from $620.00 to $655.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $850.00 to $759.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.35.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $771.91 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $658.87 and its 200 day moving average is $723.16. KLA has a one year low of $581.70 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $103.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA will post 30.37 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of KLA by 52.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,112 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.