Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Invests $223,000 in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,259,543,000 after buying an additional 404,634 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of KLA by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,645,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,026,983,000 after buying an additional 251,339 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in KLA by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 389,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,343,000 after acquiring an additional 135,469 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in KLA by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,586,781 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,078,526,000 after acquiring an additional 131,620 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $1,139.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $952.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $841.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.62. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,155.00. The company has a market capitalization of $150.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.60 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.01%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 13,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $881.50, for a total transaction of $12,090,654.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,128,418. This represents a 33.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 8,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,488,132.72. This trade represents a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522 in the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $1,093.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $980.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $1,170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $950.00.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.