KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Position Increased by Axecap Investments LLC

Axecap Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,380 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the period. KLA comprises 3.0% of Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 928.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in KLA by 239.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,094,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in KLA by 899.4% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,486,000 after purchasing an additional 889,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,322,505. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.26.

KLA Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $161.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.25. The company has a market cap of $211.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $107.20 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 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.