Horizon Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC reduced its holdings in KLA Corporation by 20.7%, selling 1,347 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 5,151 shares valued at $3,502,000.
• KLA Corporation reported an earnings per share of $9.38 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 23.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%, as well as a $5 billion stock buyback plan.

Horizon Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,151 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $3,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price objective (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $7.31 on Tuesday, hitting $876.08. The stock had a trading volume of 986,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,124. The business's fifty day moving average price is $903.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $782.96. 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 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26. The stock has a market cap of $115.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,908 shares of company stock valued at $18,038,659 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.