Bren D. Higgins Sells 1,019 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $789.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $104.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $697.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $693.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% during 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 period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $799.58.

KLA Company Profile

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.