TD Cowen Boosts KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $700.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective raised by TD Cowen from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a hold rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $720.42.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $706.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. KLA has a 1 year low of $369.00 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $685.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $601.50.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,577,847,000 after purchasing an additional 133,821 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $733,249,000 after buying an additional 54,472 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after buying an additional 153,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.