National Pension Service Buys 3,271,158 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its KLA stake by 899.4%, buying 3.27 million additional shares to own 3.63 million shares worth approximately $1.10 billion, or 0.28% of the company.
• KLA reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $1.05 and revenue of $3.66 billion; revenue rose 15.2% year over year, and the company issued quarterly EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $222.22, while KLA pays a $0.23 quarterly dividend yielding about 0.5%.

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 899.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,271,158 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. National Pension Service owned about 0.28% of KLA worth $1,096,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,584,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $444,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $182.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.98 billion, a PE ratio of 49.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.74. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $91.49 and a one year 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA's payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 263,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.22.

About KLA

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company's portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.

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