KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock: Norris Perne & French LLP MI Raises Stake

Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 130,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 74,446 shares during the period. KLA makes up 1.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in KLA were worth $25,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,727 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. BG Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $924,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 9.2% during the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 9,918 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $7,179,000. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management increased its holdings in KLA by 89.9% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 2,511 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value 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 trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last three months. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.26.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $145.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.45. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $182.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.95. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $107.20 and a 1 year high of $307.37.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.