NewEdge Advisors LLC Buys 7,218 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 54.9% in the 1st quarter, owning a total of 20,354 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million.
• Insider activity showed that CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares worth nearly $9.87 million, resulting in a 10.42% decrease in his ownership of the company's stock.
• KLA Corporation reported earnings of $9.38 per share in its latest quarterly results, exceeding estimates by $0.85 and marking a 23.6% year-over-year revenue increase.

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,354 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 7,218 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $13,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4,100.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth $36,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $14.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $932.63. 712,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,133,626. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $959.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $904.07 and its 200-day moving average is $796.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total value of $12,090,654.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,128,418. The trade was a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,348,291. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.