5,020 Shares in KLA Corporation $KLAC Bought by Sciencast Management LP

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in KLA Corporation, purchasing 5,020 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million in the first quarter.
• KLA reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $9.38, surpassing estimates by $0.85, and a revenue of $3.17 billion, which was a 23.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90, translating to an annualized dividend of $7.60, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.8% with a payout ratio of 25.01%.

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,020 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $3,413,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in KLA by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,263 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,056,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 413 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its position in shares of KLA by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,235 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of KLA by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,981 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $24,580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 10,839 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $950.00 target price (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eight research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. The trade was 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 this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock worth $29,348,291 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $14.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $932.63. 712,774 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 895,297. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $904.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $796.83. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $959.26. The firm has a market cap of $123.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA Company 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.