QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation $KLAC

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,898.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 186,475 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $59,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in KLA by 6.8% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its position in KLA by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 796 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Susquehanna set a $215.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.22.

KLA Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $187.86. 8,847,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,287,454. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $98.10 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 25.07%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 285,432 shares of company stock worth $58,369,370 over the last quarter. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About KLA

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) develops process-control and yield-management technologies used by semiconductor and other advanced-electronics manufacturers. Its systems help customers detect, measure and analyze defects and variations during the production of integrated circuits, enabling manufacturers to improve process performance, product quality and manufacturing yields.

The company’s portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect-review and analysis equipment, and software that supports process control and data management.