Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Sells 11,698 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates reduced its KLA stake by 10.6% in the third quarter, selling 11,698 shares and retaining 98,381 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.65% of KLA.
• KLA reported quarterly revenue of $3.66 billion and earnings of $1.05 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 15.2% year over year. The company issued fiscal Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26.
• KLA shares opened at $161.74, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, despite a Moderate Buy consensus analyst rating and an average price target of $221.26. Company insiders sold roughly $46.9 million of stock over the prior three months.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 11,698 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in KLA were worth $19,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position in KLA by 2,275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 781.8% in the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $161.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.25. The company has a market capitalization of $211.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $107.20 and a 1 year high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of KLA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.26.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company's product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.

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