KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Lowered to $700.00 at Barclays

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $750.00 to $700.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $806.60.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $757.47 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 stock has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $654.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $724.46. KLA has a 52-week low of $577.00 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA will post 30.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.