The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $759.00 to $864.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $746.00 to $703.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of KLA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $750.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $829.32.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $738.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $673.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $718.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.27. KLA has a twelve month low of $581.70 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 105.16%. On average, analysts predict that KLA will post 30.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.45. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB grew its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 538.5% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in KLA by 655.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 27,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,194,000 after buying an additional 23,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in KLA by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 79,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $61,769,000 after buying an additional 27,436 shares in the last quarter. 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.