26,638 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Acquired by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer increased its KLA stake by 1.5%, acquiring 26,638 shares to hold 1.78 million shares valued at approximately $347.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $4.14 billion and EPS of $1.22, beating expectations, with revenue up 28.9% year over year. The company also issued stronger-than-expected fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, supported by AI-related semiconductor demand.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but mixed, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.35. Shares have faced pressure alongside the broader semiconductor sector and remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,780,926 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 26,638 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 0.9% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.14% of KLA worth $347,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in KLA by 928.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter worth about $2,522,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in KLA by 239.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,094,530,000 after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of KLA by 899.4% in the 2nd 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, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,418,400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $471,419,000 after buying an additional 248,700 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $4.14 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.04 billion and $1.18 per share. Revenue increased 28.9% year over year, marking the company’s 10th consecutive quarter of growth. KLAC Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying roughly $4.7 billion at the midpoint versus consensus of $4.5 billion. EPS guidance of $1.33 to $1.55 also brackets or exceeds the $1.36 consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued AI-driven demand. KLA Q2 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for wafer inspection, process-control and advanced-packaging equipment is benefiting from the increasing complexity of AI chips and the construction of leading-edge semiconductor fabs. Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $225 price target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $240 and maintained Overweight. Advanced Packaging Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed. Several firms lowered price targets after earnings—including Wells Fargo, Needham, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Susquehanna and UBS—citing valuation, structural share headwinds or a more cautious risk-reward profile, even though many retained positive or neutral ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is declining in sympathy with semiconductor shares as investors question whether elevated AI infrastructure spending can continue at its current pace. The pullback also leaves the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, increasing near-term technical pressure despite the strong operating outlook. KLA Shares Weaken as Semiconductor Stocks Fall

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Zacks Research cut KLA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised KLA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.35.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $157.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.75 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.49. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $107.20 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.78.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. The business's revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.