Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 1,475 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth about $348,822,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,852,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,259,543,000 after purchasing an additional 404,634 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 421.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $205,048,000 after acquiring an additional 263,051 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $775.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $890.59.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $913.68, for a total value of $9,868,657.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,805,950.24. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,889 shares of company stock worth $17,257,637 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $870.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.83. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $959.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $904.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $785.72.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 112.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 7.760-9.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 25.01%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.