KLA Corporation $KLAC is WINTON GROUP Ltd’s 7th Largest Position

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16,865.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,740 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,934 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 1.3% of WINTON GROUP Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $41,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of KLA by 298,176.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 599,111,883 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $180,758,046,000 after purchasing an additional 598,911,025 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in KLA by 928.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,522,430,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 987.0% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,486,000 after buying an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in KLA by 960.4% in the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,580,000 after buying an additional 839,265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price target on shares of KLA and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on KLA and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.22.

KLA Stock Down 3.2%

KLAC stock opened at $182.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $91.49 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 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.