KLA Corporation $KLAC Holdings Boosted by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Key Points

• Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in KLA Corporation by 321.9% in the first quarter, now owning 9,506 shares valued at $6.46 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also raised their stakes in KLA Corporation during the same period, with Vanguard now owning over 13.5 million shares valued at approximately $9.22 billion.
• KLA Corporation reported $9.38 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share.

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 321.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,506 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares during the period. KLA accounts for approximately 2.9% of Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan's holdings in KLA were worth $6,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $4.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $964.02. 583,894 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $968.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $905.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $800.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% 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, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total transaction of $12,090,654.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,128,418. This trade represents a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Company 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.