KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Purchased by Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,090 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares during the quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $31,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 928.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its stake in KLA by 960.4% in the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,580,000 after acquiring an additional 839,265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer reissued 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.26.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $196.72. The stock had a trading volume of 10,139,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,106,595. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $187.46 and its 200 day moving average is $195.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.65, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $98.10 and a twelve month high of $307.37.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.