KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Sells $5,078,136.96 in Stock

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $5.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $700.00. 725,713 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,101,214. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $609.40 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $730.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $703.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 28.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.67.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.