Credit Agricole S A Sells 7,546 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

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Credit Agricole S A reduced its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,348 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 7,546 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in KLA were worth $38,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth about $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, 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 value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded down $2.11 on Friday, reaching $870.28. The company had a trading volume of 946,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,207. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $959.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $904.12 and its 200 day moving average is $785.37. The stock has a market cap of $114.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 business posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA'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, analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About KLA

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.