KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren D. Higgins Sells 7,008 Shares

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

KLA Stock Down 0.8 %

KLAC stock traded down $5.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $700.00. The company had a trading volume of 725,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,214. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $730.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $703.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $93.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on KLA from $703.00 to $748.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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.