KLA Corporation $KLAC is Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its KLA position by 600.7% in the second quarter, making KLA its largest holding at 2.4% of its portfolio and valued at $9.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $223.70.
• Insiders sold shares worth $26.2 million over the past quarter, while KLA’s quarterly dividend remains $0.23 per share, or $0.92 annualized, yielding approximately 0.5%.

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 600.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,057 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 2.4% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $9,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 45,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.34, for a total transaction of $9,986,725.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 713,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,996,990.71. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 111,379 shares of company stock worth $26,154,182 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.70.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $200.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $83.22 and a one year high of $307.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.67, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.52 and a 200 day moving average of $183.89.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA's offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.

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