Carmignac Gestion Has $18.76 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

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Carmignac Gestion lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,600 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 8,050 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion's holdings in KLA were worth $18,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Decatur Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,851 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,017,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in KLA by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 48,345 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $32,869,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $1,205,000. MIG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $654,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 658 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $870.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 946,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,207. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $904.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $785.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $959.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.