KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Increased to $630.00 by Analysts at Barclays

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $550.00 to $630.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

KLAC has been the subject of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $720.42.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

KLAC opened at $706.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $685.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $599.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a 12 month low of $369.00 and a 12 month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid 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 of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,577,847,000 after acquiring an additional 133,821 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in KLA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $1,048,728,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $733,249,000 after acquiring an additional 54,472 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in KLA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $626,431,000 after acquiring an additional 153,752 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.