9,466 Shares in KLA Corporation $KLAC Acquired by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,845,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth $27,000. Atomic Invest LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 781.8% during the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in KLA by 2,275.0% during the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.26.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $174.46 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $187.30 and a 200 day moving average of $196.86. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $107.20 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $227.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.58, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.45.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

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

About KLA

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.