New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $19.55 Million Stake in KLA Corporation $KLAC

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,002.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,920 shares during the period. KLA makes up 0.5% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in KLA were worth $19,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co boosted its position in shares of KLA by 829.7% during the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,654 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,522,430,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the second quarter worth about $20,763,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in KLA by 978.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 858,984 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,164,000 after purchasing an additional 779,317 shares during the period. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 600.7% during the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 31,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,522,000 after purchasing an additional 27,057 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of KLAC stock 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. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.22 and a 12-month high of $307.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $213.18 and its 200 day moving average is $187.58.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 87.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. KLA has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.060-1.260 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. KLA’s payout ratio is 25.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on KLA from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $245.00 target price on shares of KLA and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 27,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.69, for a total value of $7,359,878.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 263,472 shares in the company, valued at $70,001,875.68. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 4,504 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,558,526. The trade was a 36.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 258,533 shares of company stock worth $55,977,470. 91.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting 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 Company 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.