KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Sells $781,022.74 in Stock

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded down $24.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $749.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,717,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,090,605. The company has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $700.70 and a 200 day moving average of $694.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays decreased their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 464 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,078 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,846 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

About KLA

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.