Chico Wealth RIA Acquires 27,313 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Chico Wealth RIA increased its KLA stake by 900.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 27,313 additional shares. The fund now owns 30,346 shares valued at approximately $9.16 million, representing 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view of KLA, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.22. Recent targets range from $195 to $325, while one analyst downgraded the target to $195 with a hold rating.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, up 15.2% year over year. The company also maintains strong profitability, with a 35.57% net margin and 87.66% return on equity.

Chico Wealth RIA lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 900.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,346 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 27,313 shares during the period. KLA comprises 4.8% of Chico Wealth RIA's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Chico Wealth RIA's holdings in KLA were worth $9,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.22.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 7.3%

KLAC stock opened at $185.60 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $205.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.63. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $87.83 and a one year high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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