Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 8,225 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 40.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the period. KLA comprises approximately 1.3% of Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its position in KLA by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 1,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $9.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $197.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,635,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,105,417. The company has a market capitalization of $257.95 billion, a PE ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $98.10 and a 1 year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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 analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KLAC. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KLA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their price target on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research cut KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.26.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.