KLA Corporation $KLAC Stake Raised by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 27.4%, owning 4,323 shares worth approximately $2.94 million after acquiring 929 additional shares during the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC with a 95,141.6% position increase, have significantly raised their holdings in KLA, indicating strong institutional interest in the semiconductor company's stock.
• KLA reported a quarterly earnings per share of $9.38, exceeding analysts' estimates, while also offering a quarterly dividend of $1.90 and approving a $5 billion share buyback plan.

Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 27.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,323 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $2,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in KLA by 95,141.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after buying an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 421.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $205,048,000 after buying an additional 263,051 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up previously from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $878.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $959.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business's 50-day moving average is $904.12 and its 200-day moving average is $783.62.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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