KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Increased to $698.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $692.00 to $698.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna reissued a neutral rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $722.26.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $713.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. KLA has a 12 month low of $369.66 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The firm has a market cap of $96.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $686.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $603.00.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in KLA by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Chico Wealth RIA increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after purchasing an additional 14,251 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.