Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $945,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
KLA Stock Up 0.3%
Shares of KLAC traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $878.44. The company had a trading volume of 978,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,947. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $959.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $904.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $783.62.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm 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 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, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.
KLA Dividend Announcement
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 currently 25.01%.
KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price objective (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on KLAC
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,908 shares of company stock valued at $18,038,659. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.
KLA Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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