KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $750.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $809.81.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $782.40 on Wednesday. KLA has a 52-week low of $443.71 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $769.66 and a 200-day moving average of $757.17. The company has a market capitalization of $105.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in KLA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in KLA by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,936,000 after acquiring an additional 211,227 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in KLA by 2,205.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $166,215,000 after purchasing an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 136.2% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,667,000 after purchasing an additional 178,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.