28,549 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,233 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 28,549 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $55,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 11.3% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in KLA by 1.9% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 16,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 10.2% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,865 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $83,499,000 after buying an additional 39,185 shares in the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $732,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.35.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,506,269. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 219,173 shares of company stock valued at $42,201,914. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $138.49 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37. The stock has a market cap of $180.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.49. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.68.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 89.30% and a net margin of 36.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

KLA Profile

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.