KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson Sells 14,392 Shares

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at $15,225,605.10. This trade represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $235.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $307.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.22 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.70.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $8.48. The business had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.66% and a return on equity of 91.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 26.06%.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerage notes still describe KLA as a “Buy” or “Overweight” name, suggesting Wall Street continues to view the company’s long-term business quality favorably. KLA (KLAC): New Buy Recommendation for This Technology Giant
• Positive Sentiment: One recent commentary argued KLA may be preferable to ASML right now, reinforcing that investors still see it as a strong semiconductor equipment company. Why I Prefer KLA Corporation Over ASML Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Another article highlighted that an independent fund exited the stock because it viewed the valuation as stretched relative to quality, which may add to investor caution but does not change KLA’s operating outlook. Vltava Fund Exited KLA Corporation (KLAC) Amid Price-Quality Imbalance
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports focused on KLAC’s recent drop and described the stock as expensive, with one noting a “dangerous price” relative to fundamentals. That valuation concern is likely the main reason the shares are falling today. KLA: A Great Business At A Dangerous Price
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary also tied KLA’s weakness to broader semiconductor stock selling, with KLAC singled out as one of the larger drags on the sector and on the market index. KLA (KLAC) Stock Moves -11.51%: What You Should Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on KLA from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $218.00 price target (up from $177.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.34.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.