KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock: Sowell Financial Services LLC Cuts Holdings

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services cut its KLA stake by 49.2% in the third quarter, selling 11,440 shares and retaining 11,817 shares worth approximately $2.3 million. Other institutional investors increased their positions, and institutions collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA reported quarterly revenue of $3.66 billion and EPS of $1.05, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 15.2% year over year. The company also maintained a $0.23 quarterly dividend, equal to a 0.6% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, assigning KLA a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $221.26, despite the stock opening at $147.83—well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Sowell Financial Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 49.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,817 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 11,440 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $2,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Formuepleje A S raised its position in KLA by 1,125.5% in the 2nd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,070,000 after buying an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its stake in KLA by 829.7% during the 2nd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 1,195.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,510,000 after acquiring an additional 13,794 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in KLA by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $53,751,000 after acquiring an additional 19,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $147.83 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $183.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $107.20 and a 12 month high of $307.37. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 25.07%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.26.

About KLA

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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