Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 359,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,952 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in KLA were worth $70,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in KLA by 27.0% in the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 32,335 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,303,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in KLA by 72.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in KLA by 20.3% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 4,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in KLA by 11.0% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 13,630 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price objective on KLA and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of KLA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $210.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.26.
KLA Trading Down 2.8%
NASDAQ KLAC opened at $178.81 on Thursday. 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 $105.39 and a 52 week high of $307.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.35 billion, a PE ratio of 48.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.64.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s 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. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.07%.
Insider Activity at KLA
In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total value of $12,401,634.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total transaction of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. This trade represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.
Key KLA News
Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus price target implies approximately 27.9% potential upside. Analysts’ upward earnings-estimate revisions could provide near-term support, although price targets are not always reliable indicators. Wall Street Analysts See a 27.86% Upside in KLA
- Positive Sentiment: KLA’s underlying business remains strong: its latest reported quarter exceeded revenue and EPS expectations, with revenue up 15.2% year over year. The company also issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $1.06 to $1.26, supporting the longer-term growth case.
- Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership data showed more investors adding than reducing positions in the latest quarter, including sizable additions by Invesco, Norges Bank, Capital International Investors and JPMorgan. Why KLA stock fell 4.6% today
- Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reduced its KLA price target to $227. While the revised target remains above the reported share price, the cut signals more cautious expectations. Morgan Stanley cuts target for KLA Corporation stock to USD 227
- Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether KLA still offers attractive value after its five-year rally. Its elevated valuation leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if AI infrastructure spending or semiconductor demand slows. KLA Stock Looks Fully Valued After Its 5 Year Run
- Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials, Lam Research and ASML also weakened as investors reassessed AI-related chip spending, financing conditions and potential competitive pressure from China’s memory-chip industry. Semiconductor Equipment Stocks Slide
- Negative Sentiment: Recent insider-transaction data shows selling by KLA executives, including the CEO and CFO, with no reported open-market purchases in the past six months. This may reinforce concerns that the stock has become fully valued, though insider sales can reflect compensation and diversification.
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.
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