National Pension Service Increases Stake in KLA Corporation $KLAC

by · The Markets Daily

National Pension Service increased its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) by 899.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 0.7% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,096,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 16,865.3% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 136,740 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,256,000 after buying an additional 135,934 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $245,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $2,564,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 785.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in KLA by 797.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 87,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 213,413 shares of company stock worth $45,990,744 in the last quarter. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.22.

View Our Latest Stock Report on KLAC

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $182.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $91.49 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $199.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.98 billion, a PE ratio of 49.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

(Free Report)

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company’s portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.

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