APG Asset Management N.V. Trims Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 4.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately $53.68 million worth of stock.
• KLA Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18.
• KLA's stock has a market capitalization of $114.84 billion and reported a 23.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,293 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,103 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.06% of KLA worth $53,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 72,743 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $49,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its position in KLA by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 4,994 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in KLA by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 58,976 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $40,092,000 after acquiring an additional 17,148 shares during the period. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $5.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $894.00. 919,356 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,142,141. The stock has a market cap of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $904.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $788.04. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $959.26.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. 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 note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

About KLA

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.