KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $955.41, but opened at $924.23. KLA shares last traded at $904.12, with a volume of 415,808 shares changing hands.

Specifically, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Trading Down 8.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $902.52 and its 200 day moving average is $780.56. The stock has a market cap of $115.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in KLA by 1.0% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its position in KLA by 1.2% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.6% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its position in KLA by 1.3% in the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.