12,770 Shares in KLA Corporation $KLAC Purchased by IPG Investment Advisors LLC

IPG Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,770 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 900.3% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $308,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in 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 during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in KLA by 16,865.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $245,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of KLAC opened at $182.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $91.49 and a 12-month high of $307.37. 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 fifty day moving average price of $199.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 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 the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744. Insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.22.

KLA Company Profile

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.