KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $725.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $700.00 to $725.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reissued a neutral rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $720.42.

KLA Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $706.26 on Tuesday. KLA has a 12-month low of $369.00 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $685.41 and its 200-day moving average is $599.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.