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

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

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $673.60 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $609.40 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $727.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $703.11.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $825.39.

Institutional Trading of KLA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.