Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA Corporation by 5.6%, owning 27,747 shares valued at approximately $18.86 million by the end of the first quarter.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its position in KLA by 95,141.6%, acquiring over 1.67 million shares worth around $1.14 billion.
• KLA reported earnings of $9.38 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a revenue increase of 23.6% year-over-year.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,747 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $18,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $5.11 on Thursday, reaching $894.00. The stock had a trading volume of 964,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,690. The stock has a market cap of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $904.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $789.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.