Groupama Asset Managment Sells 1,131 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Groupama Asset Managment reduced its position in KLA Corporation by 12.9% during the first quarter, ending with 7,632 shares valued at approximately $5.14 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their stakes in KLA, contributing to a total of 86.65% of the company's stock being owned by institutional investors.
• KLA Corporation recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $9.38, considerably above the consensus estimate of $8.53, with a revenue increase of 23.6% year-over-year.

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,632 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,131 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in KLA were worth $5,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 price target (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $870.28. 946,136 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,073,542. 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 $959.26. The company has a market cap of $114.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $904.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $785.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management 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.