KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $931.96 and last traded at $922.15, with a volume of 65580 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $919.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,035.00 target price (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $840.33.

KLA Stock Down 0.0%

The stock has a market cap of $122.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm's fifty day moving average is $822.31 and its 200 day moving average is $740.94.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in KLA by 4,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.