Waverly Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• Institutional ownership surged: Waverly Advisors increased its KLA position by 1,226.1% to 17,677 shares valued at approximately $5.33 million. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 86.65% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish: KLA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $222.22 and recent targets ranging from $225 to $260.
• KLA exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported $1.05 in earnings per share and $3.66 billion in revenue, beating estimates while revenue grew 15.2% year over year. Insiders sold roughly $46 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1,226.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,344 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $5,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Formuepleje A S grew its stake in KLA by 1,125.5% during the 2nd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,070,000 after buying an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co raised its stake in KLA by 829.7% in the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 6,654 shares during the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth about $20,763,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth about $2,522,430,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of KLA by 978.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $177.18 on Friday. 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 $198.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.93. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $93.75 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The firm has a market cap of $231.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation NASDAQ: KLAC develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company's portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.

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