B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Raises Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.0% in Q1, owning 9,724 shares valued at approximately $6.61 million.
• Institutional investors now own 86.65% of KLA's stock, with notable investments from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its position by an astounding 95,141.6%.
• KLA reported a strong quarterly earnings, with $9.38 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, in addition to authorizing a $5.0 billion share buyback program.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,724 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in KLA were worth $6,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,221,230,000 after buying an additional 80,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 33.7% during 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 worth $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $22.00 on Friday, hitting $872.00. 954,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,696. The company has a market cap of $115.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $959.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $905.02 and a 200-day moving average of $790.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. KLA's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% 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 P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Company Profile

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.