UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $665.00 to $780.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $850.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $806.35.

KLA Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $760.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. KLA has a 12-month low of $581.70 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $661.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $723.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results 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. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA will post 30.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $297,000. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $256,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 832 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 25,901 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,356,000 after acquiring an additional 9,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.