Compass Financial Management LLC Takes Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Compass Financial Management purchased 17,162 shares of KLA Corporation worth approximately $5.18 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA’s outstanding stock.
• KLA reported quarterly earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $3.66 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 15.2% year over year. The company also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.23 per share.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $222.22, although insiders sold 258,533 shares worth nearly $56 million during the past 90 days.

Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,162 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $5,178,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 928.9% during 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 buying an additional 13,381,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $295,486,000 after acquiring an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 960.4% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $279,580,000 after acquiring an additional 839,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of KLA by 978.2% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock valued at $55,977,470. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.22.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $185.60 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $205.50 and a 200 day moving average of $188.63. The stock has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.61, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.83 and a 52-week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

About KLA

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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