74,446 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Acquired by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its KLA stake by 133.2% in the third quarter, acquiring 74,446 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 130,322 shares valued at approximately $25.4 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 19 Buy ratings and 10 Holds. KLA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $221.26.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, while recent insider activity showed executives selling shares totaling roughly $46.9 million over three months.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 133.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,322 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,446 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in KLA were worth $25,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in KLA by 2,275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 781.8% in 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 last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KLA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.26.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $145.61 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $182.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.95. 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 current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The company's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. KLA's payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA 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 $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% 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 worth $46,903,454. Insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

About KLA

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.

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