KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace Sells 72,014 Shares of Stock

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $10,731,526.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 634,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,614,437.22. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $3.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $157.30. 9,333,261 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,422,398. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $238.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on KLA from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.35.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 6.8% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.2% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,656 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bullock Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 2,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.