Essex Savings Bank Invests $215,000 in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Essex Savings Bank recently acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation, purchasing 240 shares valued at approximately $215,000. This adds to growing interest from institutional investors in the semiconductor company.
• KLA reported a quarterly EPS of $9.38, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $3.17 billion, representing a 23.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, yielding 0.7%, and has a payout ratio of 25.01%, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Essex Savings Bank bought a new position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 240 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,645,599 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,026,983,000 after purchasing an additional 251,339 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 389,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $264,343,000 after purchasing an additional 135,469 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares in the company, valued at $24,128,418. The trade was a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,348,291. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,093.00 price target on KLA and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $900.29.

KLA Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $26.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1,071.25. 1,019,393 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $1,076.79. The company has a market cap of $141.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $915.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $812.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.The firm's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. KLA's payout ratio is 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.