KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $759.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.
Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised KLA from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $812.47.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLAC
KLA Trading Down 0.5 %
NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $3.14 on Friday, reaching $683.06. 1,254,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,177,575. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a 52-week low of $549.63 and a 52-week high of $896.32. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $650.27 and a 200-day moving average of $729.52.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.
KLA Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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