KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Sold by Formuepleje A S

Key Points

• Formuepleje A S cut its KLA stake by 32.9% in the third quarter, selling 9,903 shares and retaining 20,159 shares valued at approximately $3.93 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 18 Buy ratings and 11 Holds. KLA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $221.26, despite recent target reductions by some analysts.
• KLA shares fell 3.4% to $172.72, while the company reported quarterly EPS and revenue above estimates, with revenue increasing 15.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Formuepleje A S trimmed its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 32.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,159 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 9,903 shares during the quarter. Formuepleje A S's holdings in KLA were worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 36.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 781.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.26.

KLA Trading Down 3.4%

KLAC traded down $6.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $172.72. 6,095,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,047,925. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $107.20 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.64. The firm has a market cap of $225.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454 in the last 90 days. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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