KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Gap Down to $745.11

KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $745.11, but opened at $725.78. KLA shares last traded at $732.89, with a volume of 53,490 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Argus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

KLA Trading Down 3.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $796.54 and its 200-day moving average is $750.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $94.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value 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 approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in KLA by 2,033.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.