KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) CEO Richard Wallace sold 4,512 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,794.00, for a total transaction of $8,094,528.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,895 shares in the company, valued at $136,155,630. The trade was a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
KLA Stock Performance
Shares of KLA stock opened at $1,811.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,621.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,425.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.27, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.50. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $740.44 and a 12 month high of $1,939.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 2.11.
Shares of KLA are going to split on Friday, June 12th. The 10-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 7th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, June 11th.
KLA Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.04%.
KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Zacks Research cut shares of KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,575.00 to $1,835.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,865.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,838.48.
View Our Latest Stock Report on KLAC
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of KLA by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 9,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,005,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 4,023.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of KLA by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 8,534 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $133,209,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
More KLA News
Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on KLA to $1,865 from $1,400, signaling improved analyst confidence in the stock’s valuation and business outlook. KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Given New $1,865.00 Price Target at Rothschild & Co Redburn
- Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains constructive overall, with KLA receiving a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy”, which can help reinforce investor confidence. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
- Positive Sentiment: KLA’s 17th straight dividend increase highlights strong cash generation and management’s confidence in long-term profitability, a favorable sign for income-focused investors. Forget the Split: KLA’s 17th Straight Dividend Raise Is the Real Story for Income Investors
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around KLA’s upcoming 10-for-1 stock split is keeping the stock in the spotlight, but the split is largely cosmetic and does not change fundamentals; it may still attract more retail attention. KLA Is Splitting, and This Foundational AI Company — Up 4,162% in 12 Months — May Be Wall Street’s Next Stock-Split Stock
- Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including CEO Richard P. Wallace’s sale of 4,512 shares, may create some short-term caution as investors watch for signals about insider sentiment. CEO Richard P. Wallace stock sale
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.
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