Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 22.2%, selling 110,227 shares, which now makes up about 1.1% of its holdings.
• Wall Street analysts have recently increased their price targets for KLA, with CitiGroup raising their target from $1,035 to $1,060, and JPMorgan Chase increasing theirs from $900 to $1,070.
• KLA announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90 and authorized a buyback plan for up to $5 billion of its shares, signaling confidence in the company's valuation.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,776 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 110,227 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.1% of Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.29% of KLA worth $262,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $890.59.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $879.55 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $903.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $786.64. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $959.26. The firm has a market cap of $116.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.41% and a net margin of 33.41%.KLA's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. Analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock valued at $17,257,637. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.