KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $688.42.

KLA Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $628.16 on Tuesday. KLA has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $84.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $684.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $592.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.