Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $32.41 Million Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 31.5%, totaling 47,678 shares worth $32.4 million after acquiring an additional 11,427 shares.
• KLA recently announced a $5 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence from the company's leadership regarding its stock valuation.
• The company reported earnings of $9.38 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 23.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,678 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,427 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $32,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after acquiring an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in KLA by 33.7% in 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 valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm'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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,908 shares of company stock worth $18,038,659 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $878.44. The stock had a trading volume of 978,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,947. The company has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $959.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $904.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $783.62. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

About KLA

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.