KLA Corporation $KLAC Holdings Lowered by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 8.7%, ending with 6,170 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on KLA; while Cantor Fitzgerald maintains an "overweight" rating, Deutsche Bank downgraded it from "buy" to "hold" with a target price of $790.
• KLA announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 0.8%, signaling ongoing financial stability.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,170 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in KLA were worth $4,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $7.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $876.08. 948,068 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,053. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $959.26. The company's fifty day moving average price is $903.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $782.31. The firm has a market cap of $115.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44.

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

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.