New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $19.55 Million Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,002.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 58,920 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for approximately 0.5% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in KLA were worth $19,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Motco raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 405 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 796 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $967,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.70.

KLA Trading Down 4.5%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $175.54 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.22 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $213.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

KLA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s AI exposure remains a long-term support. Its process-control tools are viewed as important to improving yields in advanced packaging and increasingly complex semiconductor manufacturing. What KLA’s AI-Fueled Advanced Packaging Momentum Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue reached $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, while EPS topped consensus. Management’s next-quarter EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26 also points to continued growth. Analysts cited by Zacks see meaningful potential upside, although price targets are not a guarantee. Wall Street Analysts Think KLA Could Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary remains constructive on KLA’s role as a potential “yield bottleneck” beneficiary of AI chip production and advanced manufacturing investment. KLA: The AI Yield Bottleneck Is Becoming More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: There was no clear new company-specific catalyst. The move instead reflects broader weakness across chip-equipment names, including declines in major semiconductor stocks that weighed on the Nasdaq-100 ETF and KLAC.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may have considered KLA’s strong earnings insufficient relative to elevated expectations; the stock sold off after its late-July report despite beating estimates. Comparisons with faster-growing semiconductor names also weakened its near-term appeal. KLAC vs. SNDK: Which Semiconductor Stock is a Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity is a headwind: KLA insiders reported open-market sales but no purchases over the past six months, including sales by senior executives. Investors also remain wary that export restrictions or weaker China demand could pressure sales and services.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business’s 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 owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were 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 owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock valued at $55,977,470. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

KLA 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.