Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 49,057 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 942.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 54,263 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 49,057 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 36.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $177.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.75 and a twelve month high of $307.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $198.56 and a 200-day moving average of $189.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45.

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 business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. KLA’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total transaction of $4,106,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. This represents a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,413 shares of company stock valued at $45,990,744. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Scotiabank set a $200.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.22.

About KLA

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.