BNP Paribas Purchases 368 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

BNP Paribas boosted its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,764 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in KLA were worth $2,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 61.1% during the third quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on KLA from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $1,575.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on KLA from $1,450.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,602.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,154 shares in the company, valued at $39,774,819.54. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $1,418.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.00. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,693.35. The company has a market cap of $185.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.28, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,464.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,240.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 98.18% and a net margin of 35.76%.KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $7.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

More KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA announced a $7 billion buyback, raised its quarterly dividend ~21% (to $2.30), and reaffirmed March‑quarter guidance — a direct shareholder‑friendly action that typically supports the stock and EPS per share over time. PR Newswire: KLA Hosts Investor Day; Announces $7 Billion Repurchase and Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target from $1,800 to $1,900 and kept an outperform rating — a bullish analyst signal that increases upside expectations for investors. TickerReport: Oppenheimer raises KLAC price target
• Neutral Sentiment: KLA hosted Investor Day (slides and presentations available). The event reinforced management messaging on demand drivers (AI/advanced packaging) and capital allocation, providing detail but not changing guidance. Useful for longer‑term thesis but less of an immediate shock. Seeking Alpha: KLA Investor Day Slideshow
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces (Zacks, Yahoo/MarketBeat) reiterate KLA’s exposure to accelerating wafer‑fabrication and AI chip demand; these reinforce the secular growth story but are broader‑market context rather than new company‑specific catalysts. Zacks: Industry outlook / stock commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary has revived speculation about a possible stock split given the share price level and recent capital returns; this is speculative and would be a sentiment boost if announced. MarketBeat: 3 Stocks That Could Be Next to Announce a Stock Split
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its price target to $1,700 (from $1,850) while keeping a buy rating — a modestly negative signal that tempers upside expectations and may limit near‑term analyst momentum despite the buyback. Benzinga: Jefferies lowers KLAC price target
• Negative Sentiment: Some intraday/technical commentary flagged a pullback in recent sessions (short‑term volatility reports); investors should watch near‑term profit‑taking given the stock’s strong multi‑quarter run. Zacks: Sector commentary and recent price action

About KLA

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.