KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Acquired by Andra AP fonden

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden increased its KLA stake by 1,097.7% in the second quarter, reaching 152,920 shares valued at approximately $46.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.22. KLA also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.05 EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue.
• KLA shares traded at $185.84, while company insiders sold 285,432 shares worth about $58.4 million over the past three months, including significant sales by the CEO and CFO.

Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1,097.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,920 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 140,152 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in KLA were worth $46,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 1,225.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% in the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1,038.7% in the second quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,412 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at about $747,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 942.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 54,263 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,372,000 after acquiring an additional 49,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Oppenheimer reissued 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $200.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.22.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,970,908.80. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 285,432 shares of company stock valued at $58,369,370 in the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 1.0%

KLAC stock traded up $1.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $185.84. 2,902,771 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,264,769. 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 company has a market cap of $242.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $98.10 and a 52-week high of $307.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $191.06 and its 200-day moving average is $191.05.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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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