Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 988.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 219,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 199,227 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $66,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in KLA by 298,176.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 599,111,883 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $180,758,046,000 after acquiring an additional 598,911,025 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 987.0% in the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $295,486,000 after purchasing an additional 889,269 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of KLA by 960.4% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $279,580,000 after purchasing an additional 839,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,413 shares of company stock worth $45,990,744. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $182.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $91.49 and a one year high of $307.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.88, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $199.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.22.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company's portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.

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