Caitlin John LLC Trims Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Caitlin John LLC has reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 66.0%, now holding only 1,175 shares valued at approximately $799,000.
• KLA Corporation reported $9.38 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $8.53, with revenues rising 23.6% year-over-year.
• The company's Board authorized a $5.00 billion stock repurchase plan, which indicates management believes the stock is undervalued.

Caitlin John LLC cut its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 66.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,175 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 2,277 shares during the period. KLA makes up 0.8% of Caitlin John LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Caitlin John LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $8.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $888.10. The stock had a trading volume of 812,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,859. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $117.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $903.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $787.34. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price target (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

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.