KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 234,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 9,818 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises about 1.4% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $45,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in KLA by 17.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 272,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,213,000 after acquiring an additional 40,314 shares during the last quarter. XXI Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.7% in the third quarter. XXI Wealth LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 133,142 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,953,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 9.5% during the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.8% during the third quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 20,694 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,034,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Zacks Research cut KLA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $227.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.26.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $2.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.61. The company had a trading volume of 10,431,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,050,481. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $182.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.95. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $107.20 and a one year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. KLA had a return on equity of 87.66% and a net margin of 35.57%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,506,269. This trade represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 59,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was 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 $16,167,746.53. The trade was a 43.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,339 shares of company stock valued at $46,903,454. Company insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.