KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Bought by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,314 shares during the period. KLA comprises about 2.2% of Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $53,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Atomic Invest LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 781.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in KLA by 2,275.0% during the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 900.0% during the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 778,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $145.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $182.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.31 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 $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 price objective on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.26.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) develops process control, inspection and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing industries. Its technologies help manufacturers identify defects, measure critical dimensions and monitor production processes to improve quality, reliability and manufacturing efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio includes wafer and reticle inspection systems, metrology and measurement tools, defect review and classification systems, and software for analyzing manufacturing data.