KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Price Down 2.6%

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) was down 2.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $865.00 and last traded at $869.05. Approximately 129,374 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 880,747 shares. The stock had previously closed at $892.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays upgraded KLA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $630.00 to $765.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $747.40.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on KLAC

KLA Stock Performance

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The stock's 50-day moving average is $788.83 and its 200-day moving average is $696.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $114.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

• KLA Shares Soars As Chip Equipment Makers Surge 21% In May

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

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

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.

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