KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Falls 3.2% – Time to Sell?

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)’s stock price traded down 3.2% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $179.84 and last traded at $184.00. 9,961,499 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 11,054,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.26.

KLA Trading Down 3.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $188.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $240.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.45.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service grew its position in KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,096,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,486,000 after purchasing an additional 889,269 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in KLA by 960.4% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,580,000 after purchasing an additional 839,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.