KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $222.22 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.2185.

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 285,432 shares of company stock worth $58,369,370. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 899.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,096,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 987.0% during the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,486,000 after buying an additional 889,269 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its position in KLA by 960.4% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,580,000 after acquiring an additional 839,265 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $176.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.51. KLA has a 52-week low of $98.10 and a 52-week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company’s portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.