KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $830.67 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $830.67.

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in KLA by 82.3% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $713.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $726.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $705.71. KLA has a 1-year low of $609.40 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is 28.60%.

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.