KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) were down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $674.94 and last traded at $675.37. Approximately 104,648 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 947,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $693.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

KLA Trading Down 3.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $683.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $590.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 183.1% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.