KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $760.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $700.00 to $760.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $829.32.

KLA Trading Down 0.6 %

KLAC opened at $738.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $675.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $716.79. 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 has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. 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 yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of KLA by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,902 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 658 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,032 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,362,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in KLA by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,429 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,791,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is 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.