Bank of New York Mellon Corp Invests $2.52 Billion in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 8.36 million KLA shares worth approximately $2.52 billion, representing a 0.64% stake. Institutional investors collectively owned 86.65% of KLA at the end of the reporting period.
• KLA insiders sold 258,533 shares valued at roughly $56 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by the CFO and an executive vice president.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $223.70.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,360,447 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.64% of KLA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Motco increased its holdings in KLA by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 405 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. SouthState Bank Corp raised its position in KLA by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This trade represents a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,533 shares of company stock valued at $55,977,470. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price target on KLA and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.70.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $185.86 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $221.46 and its 200 day moving average is $186.03. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.22 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $242.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.68, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.07%.

KLA Company 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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