Key Points
- CFO Bren Higgins sold 2,254 KLA shares on Dec. 16 at an average price of $1,237.01 for a total of $2,788,220.54, reducing his stake by 6.55% to 32,154 shares (≈$39.77M), per an SEC filing.
- KLA reported strong results—$8.81 EPS vs. $8.47 expected and $3.21B revenue (+13% YoY)—and set Q2 FY2026 guidance of $7.92–$9.48 EPS, with a market cap of about $160.6B and the stock trading near its 52‑week high.
- The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.90 ($7.60 annual, ~0.6% yield) and carries an analyst consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $1,273.62 target, while institutional investors own roughly 86.65% of shares.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) CFO Bren Higgins sold 2,254 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total value of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. The trade was a 6.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
KLA Trading Up 4.3%
KLAC stock opened at $1,222.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,169.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,010.97. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1,284.47. The firm has a market cap of $160.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.69.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.47 by $0.34. KLA had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 107.26%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.33 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
KLA Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.86%.
Institutional Trading of KLA
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 125.0% during the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on KLA from $1,010.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on KLA from $1,070.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Argus set a $1,400.00 price target on KLA in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, New Street Research raised their target price on shares of KLA from $980.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,273.62.
Read Our Latest Research Report on KLA
KLA Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.
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