Insider Selling: KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Sells 8,049 Shares of Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

KLA Stock Up 0.6%

KLA stock opened at $955.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $779.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $780,000. BNP Paribas grew its position in KLA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,396 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $381,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $95,217,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in KLA by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

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.

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