IFP Advisors Inc Has $4.46 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Institutional investors increased their exposure to KLA: IFP Advisors raised its holdings by 752.6% to 14,775 shares worth $4.46 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of KLAC.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: KLA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $222.22, despite the stock opening at $177.18, down 3.1%.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations and raised its dividend: The company reported $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, beating estimates, while revenue grew 15.2% year over year. KLA also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.23 per share, or a 0.5% annualized yield.

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 752.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,775 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,042 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in KLA were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Formuepleje A S raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1,125.5% in the second quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 829.7% in the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $20,763,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in KLA by 978.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,164,000 after buying an additional 779,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744 in the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.22.

KLA Stock Down 3.1%

KLAC stock opened at $177.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $231.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $198.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.93. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $93.75 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company's portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.

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