KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $748.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $703.00 to $748.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $831.68.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $740.21 on Monday. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $595.86 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $675.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $716.33. The firm has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position 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 valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.4% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,769,000 after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.