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KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,100,000 shares, a drop of 7.4% from the August 31st total of 5,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.34, for a total transaction of $1,010,672.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,117.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 96 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $30,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,341,440. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.34, for a total transaction of $1,010,672.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,117.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,916 shares of company stock valued at $6,479,343. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On KLA
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Eaton Vance Management grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 6,774 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,504 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of KLA by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 11,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
KLA Stock Down 2.6 %
Shares of KLAC traded down $8.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $302.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,641,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,033. KLA has a 52-week low of $282.83 and a 52-week high of $457.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.35.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.46 by $0.35. KLA had a return on equity of 95.80% and a net margin of 36.06%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.43 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA will post 24.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 15th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 12th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. KLA’s payout ratio is 23.74%.
KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of KLA from $437.00 to $344.00 in a report on Friday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of KLA from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of KLA from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of KLA from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 28th. Six equities research 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.00.
About KLA
(Get Rating)
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 four segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; PCB, Display and Component Inspection; and Other.
See Also
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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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