KLA Corporation $KLAC Stake Boosted by Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,090 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $31,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in KLA by 928.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $2,522,430,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in KLA by 899.4% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,634,859 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,096,673,000 after buying an additional 3,271,158 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 987.0% in the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 979,371 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,486,000 after acquiring an additional 889,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of KLA by 960.4% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 926,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $279,580,000 after acquiring an additional 839,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Scotiabank set a $200.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.26.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $196.72. 10,139,084 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,106,595. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.72 billion, a PE ratio of 53.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. 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 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 analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current 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 represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,505. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the transaction, 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 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. Corporate insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

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.