KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Trading Down 2.6%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) fell 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $674.94 and last traded at $675.37. 104,648 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 947,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $693.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

KLA Stock Down 3.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $683.11 and a 200 day moving average of $590.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 52.8% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 22.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,074,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $759,532,000 after purchasing an additional 385,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in KLA by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KLA

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.