Brian Lorig Sells 44 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

KLA Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $853.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $114.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $770.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $686.67.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

KLA Company Profile

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.