Bren D. Higgins Sells 7,018 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $698.57. 1,080,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,964. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $355.88 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $660.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $567.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $685.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $641.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in KLA by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 183.1% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.4% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.