KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $870.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $950.00 to $870.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on KLAC. Argus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a market perform rating and a $750.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $804.81.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $787.39 on Thursday. KLA has a 52 week low of $449.35 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $768.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $761.05.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after acquiring an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KLA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in KLA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $959,695,000 after acquiring an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.