Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Increases Stock Position in KLA Corporation $KLAC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 950.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in KLA by 4,100.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,805,950.24. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 8,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total transaction of $7,354,210.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,479 shares in the company, valued at $10,488,132.72. The trade was a 41.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,566 shares of company stock worth $29,313,522 in the last three months. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $1,193.37 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,284.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,069.46 and a 200 day moving average of $920.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $156.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.52.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.47 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 113.10% and a net margin of 33.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.33 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 7.920-9.480 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of KLA from $1,170.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,010.00 to $1,460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $1,060.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,154.00 price objective on KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on KLA from $820.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,237.16.

KLA Profile

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.