Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 13,381,153 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 928.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,381,153 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 0.8% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,471,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,380,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $90,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in KLA by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory bought a new stake in KLA during the third quarter valued at about $444,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.70.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $175.54 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.22 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $213.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.58.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s AI exposure remains a long-term support. Its process-control tools are viewed as important to improving yields in advanced packaging and increasingly complex semiconductor manufacturing. What KLA’s AI-Fueled Advanced Packaging Momentum Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue reached $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, while EPS topped consensus. Management’s next-quarter EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26 also points to continued growth. Analysts cited by Zacks see meaningful potential upside, although price targets are not a guarantee. Wall Street Analysts Think KLA Could Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary remains constructive on KLA’s role as a potential “yield bottleneck” beneficiary of AI chip production and advanced manufacturing investment. KLA: The AI Yield Bottleneck Is Becoming More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: There was no clear new company-specific catalyst. The move instead reflects broader weakness across chip-equipment names, including declines in major semiconductor stocks that weighed on the Nasdaq-100 ETF and KLAC.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may have considered KLA’s strong earnings insufficient relative to elevated expectations; the stock sold off after its late-July report despite beating estimates. Comparisons with faster-growing semiconductor names also weakened its near-term appeal. KLAC vs. SNDK: Which Semiconductor Stock is a Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity is a headwind: KLA insiders reported open-market sales but no purchases over the past six months, including sales by senior executives. Investors also remain wary that export restrictions or weaker China demand could pressure sales and services.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 14,392 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.30, for a total value of $4,106,037.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,225,605.10. The trade was a 21.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470 over the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Profile

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.