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

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 634,911 shares in the company, valued at $94,614,437.22. This represents a 10.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

KLA Trading Down 2.3%

KLA stock opened at $157.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $107.20 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $204.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Formuepleje A S grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1,125.5% in the 2nd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co increased its position in shares of KLA by 829.7% during the 2nd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of KLA by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,751,000 after purchasing an additional 19,700 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 1,195.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 13,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets set a $133.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.35.

KLA Company Profile

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.