KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $831.68.

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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 raised their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $750.74 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $697.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $714.99. The company has a market capitalization of $99.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28. KLA has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Research analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the period. 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.