1832 Asset Management L.P. Boosts Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. has increased its position in KLA Corporation by 41%, owning 58,976 shares worth approximately $40 million.
• KLA reported earnings per share (EPS) of $9.38 in the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and plans to repurchase $5 billion in shares, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, and maintains a low dividend payout ratio of 25.01%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 41.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,976 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,148 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in KLA were worth $40,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after acquiring an additional 404,634 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 421.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $205,048,000 after acquiring an additional 263,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded up $8.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $888.10. 812,229 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,148,859. 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 $117.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $903.77 and its 200 day moving average is $787.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

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.