Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 86.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately $77.43 million in shares.
• KLA Corporation has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, payable on September 3rd, and has also initiated a $5 billion stock buyback plan.
• The company reported a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41% with quarterly earnings per share of $9.38, surpassing analyst expectations.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 53,909 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.09% of KLA worth $77,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in KLA by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $0.8150 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $876.8950. 458,202 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,848. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $903.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $782.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $959.26. The firm has a market cap of $115.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Securities lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Eight 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,908 shares of company stock valued at $18,038,659. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.