KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its KLA stake by 239.3% in the third quarter, acquiring nearly 4 million additional shares for a total holding valued at approximately $1.09 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with 18 Buy ratings and 11 Holds and an average price target of $221.26. KLA recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue.
• KLA insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Richard Wallace and EVP Brian Lorig; insiders sold 243,339 shares worth $46.9 million over the past 90 days. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, yielding approximately 0.5%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 3,959,927 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 0.8% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.43% of KLA worth $1,094,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthPLAN Partners LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 16.3% during the third quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 771.7% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,848 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 18.4% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 11,243 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.9% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 12,716 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 74.7% during the third quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.26.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. Insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $174.46 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $187.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.86. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $107.20 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The company has a market capitalization of $227.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.45. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

KLA Company Profile

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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