Brokerages Set KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target at $816.63

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $816.63.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

KLA Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $657.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $87.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 12 month low of $542.41 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $649.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $734.60.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA will post 30.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in KLA by 655.8% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,722,000 after buying an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.