KLA Corporation $KLAC Position Increased by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 885.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,799 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,863 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 928.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,821,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,471,832,000 after buying an additional 13,381,153 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in KLA during the second quarter worth about $2,522,430,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in KLA by 978.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,164,000 after acquiring an additional 779,317 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in KLA in the second quarter worth about $163,950,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in KLA by 781.5% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 359,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,397,000 after acquiring an additional 318,520 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 target price on KLA and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on KLA from $140.00 to $186.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.70.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $175.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $213.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.22 and a 52 week high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.13, for a total transaction of $12,401,634.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,167,746.53. This trade represents a 43.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total transaction of $880,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,558,526. This represents a 36.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,533 shares of company stock valued at $55,977,470. Corporate insiders own 91.48% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s AI exposure remains a long-term support. Its process-control tools are viewed as important to improving yields in advanced packaging and increasingly complex semiconductor manufacturing. What KLA’s AI-Fueled Advanced Packaging Momentum Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: revenue reached $3.66 billion, up 15.2% year over year, while EPS topped consensus. Management’s next-quarter EPS guidance of $1.06–$1.26 also points to continued growth. Analysts cited by Zacks see meaningful potential upside, although price targets are not a guarantee. Wall Street Analysts Think KLA Could Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary remains constructive on KLA’s role as a potential “yield bottleneck” beneficiary of AI chip production and advanced manufacturing investment. KLA: The AI Yield Bottleneck Is Becoming More Valuable
• Neutral Sentiment: There was no clear new company-specific catalyst. The move instead reflects broader weakness across chip-equipment names, including declines in major semiconductor stocks that weighed on the Nasdaq-100 ETF and KLAC.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may have considered KLA’s strong earnings insufficient relative to elevated expectations; the stock sold off after its late-July report despite beating estimates. Comparisons with faster-growing semiconductor names also weakened its near-term appeal. KLAC vs. SNDK: Which Semiconductor Stock is a Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity is a headwind: KLA insiders reported open-market sales but no purchases over the past six months, including sales by senior executives. Investors also remain wary that export restrictions or weaker China demand could pressure sales and services.

KLA Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.