KLA Corporation $KLAC is Decatur Capital Management Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

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Decatur Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,851 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 3.1% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Decatur Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $6,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,221,230,000 after buying an additional 80,154 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after acquiring an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in KLA by 9.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $870.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 946,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,207. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $904.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $785.37. The stock has a market capitalization 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $959.26.

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

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

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.