17,235 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its KLA holdings by 234.9% in the third quarter, purchasing 17,235 shares for a total position of 24,573 shares worth approximately $4.79 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA reported quarterly EPS of $1.05, beating the $1.00 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion. The company issued fiscal Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $221.26, but KLA faces valuation concerns and recent insider selling by executives, including the CEO and CFO.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 234.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,573 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,235 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in KLA were worth $4,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC boosted its position in KLA by 781.8% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus price target implies approximately 27.9% potential upside. Analysts’ upward earnings-estimate revisions could provide near-term support, although price targets are not always reliable indicators. Wall Street Analysts See a 27.86% Upside in KLA
• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s underlying business remains strong: its latest reported quarter exceeded revenue and EPS expectations, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. The company also issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the longer-term growth case.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership data showed more investors adding than reducing positions in the latest quarter, including sizable additions by Invesco, Norges Bank, Capital International Investors and JPMorgan. Why KLA stock fell 4.6% today
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reduced its KLA price target to $227. While the revised target remains above the reported share price, the cut signals more cautious expectations. Morgan Stanley cuts target for KLA Corporation stock to USD 227
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether KLA still offers attractive value after its five-year rally. Its elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if AI infrastructure spending or semiconductor demand slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its 5 Year Run
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials, Lam Research and ASML also weakened as investors reassessed AI-related chip spending, financing conditions and potential competitive pressure from China’s memory-chip industry. Semiconductor Equipment Stocks Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider-transaction data shows selling by KLA executives, including the CEO and CFO, with no reported open-market purchases in the past six months. This may reinforce concerns that the stock has become fully valued, though insider sales can reflect compensation and diversification.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.26.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $178.81 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.35 billion, a PE ratio of 48.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $105.39 and a 52-week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 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 firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. 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 yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at $154,970,908.80. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

KLA Company Profile

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.

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