KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Sells 72,014 Shares of Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $10,731,526.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 634,911 shares in the company, valued at $94,614,437.22. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $3.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $157.30. The stock had a trading volume of 9,333,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,422,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.86. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $107.20 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in KLA by 239.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,927 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $377,898,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Piper Sandler set a $425.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on KLA from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.35.

About KLA

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.