WBI Investments LLC Sells 1,211 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC reduced its stake in KLA Corporation by 71.4%, selling 1,211 shares and retaining 485 shares valued at $330,000.
• KLA reported $9.38 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 23.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.90, representing an annual yield of 0.8% with a payout ratio of 25.01%.

WBI Investments LLC cut its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 71.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 485 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,211 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,259,543,000 after acquiring an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 421.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $205,048,000 after purchasing an additional 263,051 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $959.28 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $963.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $904.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $798.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business's revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. On average, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up from $850.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $590.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,348,291. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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