Hancock Whitney Corp Trims Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 target price (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total transaction of $12,090,654.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,128,418. The trade was a 33.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $873.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $115.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.48. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $902.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $792.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.01%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.