KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace Sells 45,120 Shares

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total value of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

KLA Stock Up 12.9%

Shares of KLAC opened at $2,411.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.50. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $832.24 and a 1 year high of $2,431.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,843.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,547.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 91.89% and a net margin of 35.66%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $133,209,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $119,618,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of KLA by 151.2% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $171,230,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 69.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 87,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $94,422,000 after purchasing an additional 35,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,812,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus increased their price target on KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $170.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on KLA from $187.50 to $197.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.44.

KLA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say the AI boom is improving the outlook for wafer-fabrication equipment demand, which is lifting shares of KLA and other chip-equipment names. Applied Materials, KLA stocks gain as AI boom lifts chip equipment outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight view on KLA, and multiple recent price-target hikes suggest Wall Street sees more upside after the company’s strong earnings and AI-focused guidance. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights KLA’s earnings beat, higher price targets, and continued demand for process-control tools as supportive catalysts for the stock. Why KLA Corporation Stock Edged Past the Broader Market Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles point to KLA’s upcoming 10-for-1 stock split, which may be drawing extra attention but does not change the company’s fundamentals. Dear KLA Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 12
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 4,512 shares in a disclosed insider transaction, which can slightly pressure sentiment even though the sale was small relative to his remaining holdings. Richard P. Wallace insider sale filing

About KLA

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.