KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target Lowered to $759.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $850.00 to $759.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KLA from $870.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research 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.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.47.

KLA Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $683.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $650.27 and its 200 day moving average is $729.52. 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 $549.63 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.03 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that KLA will post 30.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter valued at $38,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.