KLA Corporation $KLAC Stake Lowered by JGP Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• JGP Wealth Management cut its KLA stake by 22.1% in the third quarter, selling 76,750 shares and retaining 270,046 shares valued at approximately $52.6 million. KLA remains about 4.5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains favorable, with 18 analysts rating KLA a Buy and 11 a Hold. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $221.26.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year. Insiders sold roughly $46.9 million of shares over the past 90 days, and the company maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.23 per share.

JGP Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,046 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 76,750 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for approximately 4.5% of JGP Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $52,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in KLA by 1.0% in the first quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 1,783 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 28.2% in the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 822 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,211,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,322,505. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $190.12 on Tuesday. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.86 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $248.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.19 and a 200-day moving average of $196.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

About KLA

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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