Barclays Increases KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $800.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price upped by Barclays from $765.00 to $800.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $806.24.

KLA Stock Up 3.2 %

KLAC opened at $787.39 on Thursday. KLA has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $809.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $717.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. United Community Bank lifted its position in KLA by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 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.