Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 6.2%, holding 22,073 shares worth approximately $19.77 million, making it the 10th largest position in their portfolio.
• Other large investors, such as Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, increased their holdings in KLA during the first quarter, with Vanguard owning over $9.2 billion worth of shares.
• KLA's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $9.38 earnings per share and a revenue increase of 23.6% year-over-year, alongside a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share.

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,469 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 1.3% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in KLA were worth $19,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,564,622 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,221,230,000 after purchasing an additional 80,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 18.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,645,599 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,026,983,000 after purchasing an additional 251,339 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.0% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,078,526,000 after purchasing an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 890,607 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $605,435,000 after purchasing an additional 33,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,128,418. This trade represents a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock valued at $29,313,522 over the last three months. Company insiders own 91.48% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $982.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $963.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $850.23. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,155.00. The company has a market capitalization of $129.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $1,170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $920.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $973.16.

KLA Company 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.

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