KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Research Coverage Started at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $750.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $809.81.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $782.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $769.26 and a 200-day moving average of $756.50. The firm has a market cap of $105.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. KLA has a 1-year low of $443.71 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 41,062.2% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 99,201 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,792,000 after acquiring an additional 98,960 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 106.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 689 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,935,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,607,000. Finally, Farmers National Bank lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 17 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.