KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Raised to $1,750.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective boosted by Argus from $1,400.00 to $1,750.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $1,500.00 to $1,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. New Street Research lifted their price objective on KLA from $1,315.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,750.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on KLA from $1,100.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,595.39.

KLA Trading Up 8.4%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,442.62 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,347.11 and its 200 day moving average is $1,140.28. KLA has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $1,693.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a return on equity of 98.18% and a net margin of 35.76%.The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 22.11%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total value of $12,997,089.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,704,954.10. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $292,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments grew its stake in shares of KLA by 631.6% in the second quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments now owns 15,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,603,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Finally, Oak Associates Ltd. OH boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.7% in the second quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 90,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.