Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services increased its KLA holdings by 588.2% in the second quarter to 14,873 shares worth approximately $4.49 million. Other institutional investors also significantly expanded positions, and institutions now own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA reported quarterly EPS of $1.05, surpassing the $1.00 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $3.66 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $222.22.
• KLA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to a $0.92 annualized payout and a 0.5% yield. Company insiders sold about 258,533 shares worth $55.98 million during the last quarter.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 588.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,873 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,712 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $4,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $2,522,430,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 987.0% in the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $295,486,000 after acquiring an additional 889,269 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in KLA by 960.4% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $279,580,000 after acquiring an additional 839,265 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in KLA by 978.2% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.22.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $185.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a PE ratio of 50.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.83 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business'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. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470 in the last quarter. Insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

KLA Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA's offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.

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