Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 5,713 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 86,380 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 36.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the second quarter worth about $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 781.8% in the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 3.0%

KLA stock opened at $153.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.90 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.43. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $107.20 and a twelve month high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The business 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 earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. This trade represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.26.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong results and guidance support the stock. KLA’s quarterly performance exceeded analyst expectations, with earnings and revenue above consensus and revenue growth from the prior year. Analysts’ commentary indicates that the company’s outlook remains supported by semiconductor-fabrication investment and demand for process-control equipment. Market Rotation Overshadows KLA Corp’s Solid Results and Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center expansion remain important growth drivers. KLA’s earnings are being viewed alongside Equinix and Vertiv as indicators of whether AI-related data-center construction will continue accelerating into 2027. Strong demand across the semiconductor and data-center supply chain could benefit KLA’s inspection and metrology business. What Equinix, KLA, and Vertiv Earnings Could Signal About Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Rising semiconductor complexity is viewed as a potential new growth cycle. Analysts and investment commentary highlight KLA’s leadership in process control, advanced packaging exposure and benefits from AI-driven chip demand. One comparison with Applied Materials and Lam Research characterizes KLA as well positioned as manufacturers require more inspection and measurement throughout production. KLA Corporation Versus AMAT and LRCX
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain generally constructive but valuation and sector conditions matter. Recent coverage compares KLA favorably with other semiconductor stocks and notes that earnings-estimate revisions and oversold technical conditions could support a rebound after the recent decline. However, the articles also emphasize that market rotation has limited the response to KLA’s fundamentally positive update. Analysts Offer Insights on KLA, Cisco Systems and Hewlett Packard Enterprise
• Negative Sentiment: Technology-sector rotation is the main near-term headwind. Despite KLA’s solid results and outlook, investors have rotated away from technology shares, overshadowing the company-specific positives and potentially increasing volatility. Market Rotation Overshadows KLA Corp’s Solid Results and Guidance

About KLA

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.