Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $26.24 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in KLA Corporation by over 3,477% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at approximately $26.24 million.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 18th, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%.
• KLA Corporation's recent earnings report showed a earnings per share of $9.38, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue increase of 23.6% year-over-year.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 3,477.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,599 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,520 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $26,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in KLA by 40.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,479,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after buying an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $922.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $890.59.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $872.00 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $959.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $905.02 and its 200-day moving average is $790.08. The firm has a market cap of $115.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.44. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly 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 predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.01%.

KLA 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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