KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial reduced its KLA position by 11.9% in the third quarter, selling 62,789 shares and retaining 463,625 shares valued at approximately $90.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA insiders sold 243,339 shares worth approximately $46.9 million during the latest quarter, including substantial sales by executives Virendra Kirloskar and Brian Lorig.
• KLA’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $221.26.

Vest Financial LLC lowered its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 463,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 62,789 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up about 0.9% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $90,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 66.3% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 16,163 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. AMG Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMG Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 111,795 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $21,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $184.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.34. The company has a market capitalization of $213.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $107.20 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.26.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company's product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.

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