KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,700 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $53,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 1,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 28.2% in the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in KLA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. 79.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $166.40 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $186.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.18. The company has a market capitalization of $217.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.38, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from 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.