KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by Providence First Trust Co

Providence First Trust Co lessened its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,816 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Formuepleje A S increased its stake in KLA by 1,125.5% during the second quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,070,000 after acquiring an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co raised its position in KLA by 829.7% during the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,751,000 after purchasing an additional 19,700 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1,195.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 13,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This trade represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 219,173 shares of company stock valued at $42,201,914. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share, payable December 1 to shareholders of record November 16. The dividend provides a modest return to shareholders. KLA Declares Regular Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish analysis highlights KLA’s strong quarterly results, AI-related demand, expanding margins, and upbeat guidance, including projected year-over-year revenue growth of 43% and EPS growth above 60% in the next quarter. KLA: Unfairly Caught Up In The Tech Carnage
• Positive Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds bought $52.3 million of KLAC shares on November 3, indicating institutional fund demand. ETFs Bought $52.3 Million of KLAC
• Neutral Sentiment: A report on a $17 billion hedge fund returning cash after a poor month discusses ownership and positioning in AI-chip stocks, including KLA. It may contribute to volatility, but does not by itself establish a change in KLA’s business outlook. Hedge Fund Returns Cash After Worst Month Since 2020
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually high put-option buying suggests some investors are hedging against, or betting on, downside in KLAC, a potentially bearish near-term signal. KLA Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.35.

KLA Trading Up 6.7%

Shares of KLAC traded up $8.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.49. 15,336,108 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,115,061. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.68. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $107.20 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $180.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.49.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.47 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices.

The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.