Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Buys 119,190 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 212.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 119,190 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.6% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in KLA were worth $34,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 14.8% during the third quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,821 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Vann Equity Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter worth about $406,000. City Center Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 3.7% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 40.1% in the third quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings cut KLA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.26.

KLA Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $1.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $195.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,169,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,069,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $254.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.41, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $98.10 and a 12 month high of $307.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $187.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,322,505. This trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This trade represents a 36.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454 in the last three months. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management solutions used by semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect defects, measure and analyze materials and structures, and monitor manufacturing processes throughout the production of integrated circuits and other advanced electronic components.

The company’s product portfolio includes inspection and metrology systems, wafer and reticle inspection equipment, process-control software, data analytics tools, and related services.