KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson Sells 13,802 Shares

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Mary Beth Wilkinson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 4th, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 4,295 shares of KLA stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.59, for a total value of $822,879.05.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.85. The stock had a trading volume of 10,009,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,671,193. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $251.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.22 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. New Street Research boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of KLA from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 405 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A broad semiconductor rally, driven by renewed AI enthusiasm, strong memory demand and anticipation of earnings from chipmakers, may improve expectations for KLA’s wafer-inspection and process-control equipment. Semiconductor Rally Powers S&P 500 to Fresh Record High
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s latest quarterly results beat expectations: revenue rose 15.2% year over year to approximately $3.66 billion and earnings exceeded consensus. Management provided quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a reported consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target above the recent trading range. Recent upgrades and higher targets reflect confidence in KLA’s exposure to advanced chips and AI-related manufacturing.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options activity indicates increased trader interest in KLA, but the flow alone does not establish a reliable bullish or bearish direction.
• Negative Sentiment: DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its KLA position by about 2.86 million shares, or roughly 90%, according to a June 30 13F filing. Large institutional reductions can pressure sentiment, although 13F data is delayed and may contain reporting or parsing inaccuracies. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Fund Update
• Negative Sentiment: KLA’s valuation remains demanding, with a price-to-earnings ratio above 50. Coverage questioning whether the stock is fully valued raises the risk of further volatility if semiconductor spending or AI investment slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its Huge Run
• Negative Sentiment: Two executives sold shares totaling approximately $1.1 million. The transactions were made to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, reducing their negative significance, but they add to a broader pattern of insider selling with no reported purchases in the past six months.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.