Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New $3.18 Million Investment in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont acquired 10,540 KLA shares worth approximately $3.18 million during the second quarter, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.65% of KLAC.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS versus the $1.00 consensus and $3.66 billion in revenue, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $223.70 average price target.
• Recent insider activity was negative, with the CEO and an executive vice president selling a combined 147,154 shares for roughly $29.8 million; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $3,180,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $2,522,430,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in KLA by 978.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,164,000 after buying an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in KLA by 781.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $108,397,000 after buying an additional 318,520 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 180,279 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $265,444,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in KLA by 151.2% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 116,292 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $171,230,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $205.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.37. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.22 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The firm has a market cap of $268.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.70.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA's offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.

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