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

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $747.40.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $857.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $795.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $700.64. The company has a market capitalization of $115.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in KLA by 16.0% during the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 848 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 2,046.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in KLA by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 746 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of KLA by 15.4% in the second quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.