KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Purchased by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Française increased its KLA stake by 451.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 96,331 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 117,682 shares valued at $35.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA executives sold a combined 258,533 shares worth approximately $56.0 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by CEO Richard Wallace and EVP Brian Lorig.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $222.22.

Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 451.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,682 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,331 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in KLA were worth $35,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock valued at $55,977,470. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $185.60 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $205.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.93. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $87.83 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $242.50 billion, a PE ratio of 50.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank set a $200.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.22.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA's offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.

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