Citigroup Boosts KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $760.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $725.00 to $760.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KLAC. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $750.00 target price (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $722.26.

KLA Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $666.04 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $687.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $604.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.34. KLA has a 1-year low of $369.66 and a 1-year high of $729.15. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.95 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other KLA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its position in KLA by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.