KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Down 2.4% – What’s Next?

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s share price was down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $168.42 and last traded at $174.46. 13,686,606 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 11,087,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.26.

KLA Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.66 and a 200-day moving average of $196.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KLA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of KLA by 239.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in KLA by 899.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 11.5% in the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,418,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $471,419,000 after purchasing an additional 248,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.