KLA Corporation $KLAC Position Decreased by Howard Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management reduced its KLA stake by 18.8% in the third quarter, selling 43,719 shares and retaining 189,191 shares valued at approximately $36.9 million. Other institutional investors increased their positions, and institutions collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA shares fell 5.0% to $165.74, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $221.26.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 EPS on $3.66 billion in revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. The company also announced a $0.23 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.6% yield.

Howard Capital Management LLC cut its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,191 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 43,719 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $36,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the third quarter worth $6,937,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 343.5% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,546 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its stake in shares of KLA by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 912 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth $320,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,802 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.26.

KLA Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of KLA stock traded down $8.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $165.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,108,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,441,942. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $107.20 and a twelve month high of $307.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.66 and a 200-day moving average of $196.64. The stock has a market cap of $216.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA's payout ratio is 25.07%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company's product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.

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