KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.70

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of 1.70 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45.

KLA has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. KLA has a payout ratio of 18.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect KLA to earn $32.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.0%.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $686.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.48. KLA has a 1 year low of $504.66 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $91.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $735.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $763.89.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Company Profile

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.