KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $759.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $759.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.47.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $683.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $650.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $729.52. KLA has a 52 week low of $549.63 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter worth about $56,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.