KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives $277.34 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $280.3357.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Citic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $135.00 to $197.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on KLA from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on KLA from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on KLA from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered KLA from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total transaction of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This trade represents a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 132,333 shares of company stock valued at $29,547,170 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $221.18 on Thursday. KLA has a 52-week low of $83.22 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $288.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $214.09 and its 200 day moving average is $172.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.06%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.