KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Purchased by Axecap Investments LLC

Axecap Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,380 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 3,497 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 3.0% of Axecap Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Axecap Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 928.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 899.4% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,096,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271,158 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 239.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,614,990 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,094,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 11.5% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,418,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $471,419,000 after purchasing an additional 248,700 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $161.74 on Wednesday. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $107.20 and a one year high of $307.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market cap of $211.07 billion, a PE ratio of 44.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.