American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 17,961 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 8.8%, owning 221,705 shares valued at approximately $150.7 million.
• KLA Corporation recently beat earnings estimates, reporting $9.38 EPS and $3.17 billion in revenue for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company has initiated a $5 billion stock buyback plan signifying confidence in its valuation, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,705 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 17,961 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.17% of KLA worth $150,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 target price (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $1.7620 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $874.3180. The company had a trading volume of 507,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,974. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $115.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.44. The company's 50-day moving average price is $903.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $782.96. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA 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.