Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Stake in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total ownership to 25,341 shares valued at approximately $22.7 million.
• KLA's CEO, Richard P. Wallace, recently sold 10,801 shares at an average price of $913.68, reflecting a decrease of 10.42% in his position, while total insider sales in the last quarter amounted to over $29 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for KLA, with Wolfe Research projecting a target of $1,250, indicating strong market confidence in the company's stock performance.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,341 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $22,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 32,566 shares of company stock valued at $29,313,522 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on KLA from $930.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on KLA from $970.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research increased their target price on KLA from $1,075.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,093.00 target price on KLA and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,040.65.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $1,147.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $989.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $871.23. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,161.18.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%.KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $1.90 dividend. 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 0.7%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

KLA 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.

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