AQR Capital Management LLC Has $76.80 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 15.3%, acquiring an additional 15,330 shares, resulting in ownership of 115,372 shares valued at approximately $76.8 million.
• Insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of KLA for over $12 million, representing a significant 33.38% reduction in their ownership.
• KLA's recent earnings report showed $9.38 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, a 23.6% increase year-over-year.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,372 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,330 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of KLA worth $76,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Up 2.9%

KLAC traded up $26.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $959.28. 1,020,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 885,908. The stock has a market cap of $126.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.48. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $963.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $904.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $798.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 25.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,348,291 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company 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.