Brokerages Set KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Target Price at $222.22

Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.2185.

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $253.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $200.00 price objective on KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 285,432 shares of company stock worth $58,369,370. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 36.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 84 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $168.98 on Tuesday. KLA has a 52-week low of $98.10 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $220.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.08, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $192.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.