KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock: Insider Richard Wallace Sells 72,014 Shares

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $10,731,526.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 634,911 shares in the company, valued at $94,614,437.22. The trade was a 10.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $152.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.99 and a 200 day moving average of $181.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $198.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.49. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $107.20 and a 52 week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 928.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of KLA by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,113,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $997,000,000 after buying an additional 256,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Piper Sandler set a $425.00 target price on KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $133.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.35.

About KLA

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.