KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $802.90 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $802.90.

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after acquiring an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 32,828.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,419,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,647,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408,617 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after buying an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of KLA by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,083,684,000 after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.2 %

KLA stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $687.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $731.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $763.72. KLA has a twelve month low of $505.50 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.74 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA will post 30.91 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.48%.

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.