Vident Advisory LLC Decreases Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 5.4%, owning 29,446 shares worth approximately $20 million after selling 1,676 shares.
• KLA's stock price recently opened at $894.00, with a market capitalization of $117.97 billion and an earnings report indicating $9.38 earnings per share, surpassing estimates.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.90 on September 3rd, reflecting a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of 25.01%.

Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,446 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,676 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $20,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $10.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $835.72. The stock had a trading volume of 383,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,772. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $904.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $791.49. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.