KLA Corporation $KLAC Position Trimmed by Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC

Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 36.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,764 shares during the quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of KLA by 928.9% during the 2nd 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in KLA by 899.4% during the 2nd 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 period. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 987.0% during the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,486,000 after purchasing an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in KLA by 960.4% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,580,000 after purchasing an additional 839,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.22.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded up $6.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.89. 7,352,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,156,984. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $269.99 billion, a PE ratio of 56.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.79. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $98.10 and a 1 year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.07%.

KLA Company 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.