Cantor Fitzgerald Raises KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Price Target to $950.00

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target boosted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $800.00 to $950.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an outperform rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $771.65.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $762.55 on Tuesday. KLA has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.67 billion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $805.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $707.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 23.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $627,399,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.