NewEdge Advisors LLC Acquires 172,728 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors increased its KLA stake by 871.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 172,728 shares and bringing its total holdings to 192,552 shares valued at approximately $58.1 million.
• KLA exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS and $3.66 billion in revenue, with revenue up 15.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $222.22, while KLA’s quarterly dividend implies an annualized payout of $0.92 per share and a 0.5% yield.

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 871.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,552 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 172,728 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $58,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2,275.0% in the second quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,001,875.68. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $188.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $246.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $91.02 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $201.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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 forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA's payout ratio is 25.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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