Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 49,390 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 14.9%, owning approximately 0.29% of the company, valued at $259.3 million.
• KLA Corporation reported a 23.6% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $9.38, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Insider trades indicate significant stock sales, with insiders selling a total of 32,605 shares valued at over $29 million in the last quarter.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 381,461 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 49,390 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.29% of KLA worth $259,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 15.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 115,372 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $76,804,000 after acquiring an additional 15,330 shares during the period. Alight Capital Management LP bought a new position in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $2,719,000. Amundi increased its holdings in KLA by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,645,599 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,026,983,000 after purchasing an additional 251,339 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at $10,488,132.72. This represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value 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 represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $11.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $920.57. The stock had a trading volume of 224,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,405. The company has a market cap of $121.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.48. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $959.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $903.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $795.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.01%.

KLA 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.