88,526 KLA Corporation $KLAC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,075,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 88,526 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $599,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in KLA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 94 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position in KLA by 2,275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC raised its position in KLA by 781.8% in the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 97 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Truist Financial set a $225.00 target price on KLA in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.35.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of approximately $4.14 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.04 billion and $1.18 per share. Revenue increased 28.9% year over year, marking the company’s 10th consecutive quarter of growth. KLAC Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company issued fiscal Q2 revenue guidance of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion, implying roughly $4.7 billion at the midpoint versus consensus of $4.5 billion. EPS guidance of $1.33 to $1.55 also brackets or exceeds the $1.36 consensus estimate, reinforcing expectations for continued AI-driven demand. KLA Q2 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for wafer inspection, process-control and advanced-packaging equipment is benefiting from the increasing complexity of AI chips and the construction of leading-edge semiconductor fabs. Argus reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $225 price target, while JPMorgan raised its target to $240 and maintained Overweight. Advanced Packaging Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed. Several firms lowered price targets after earnings—including Wells Fargo, Needham, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Susquehanna and UBS—citing valuation, structural share headwinds or a more cautious risk-reward profile, even though many retained positive or neutral ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: KLAC is declining in sympathy with semiconductor shares as investors question whether elevated AI infrastructure spending can continue at its current pace. The pullback also leaves the stock below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, increasing near-term technical pressure despite the strong operating outlook. KLA Shares Weaken as Semiconductor Stocks Fall

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP MaryBeth Wilkinson sold 13,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.50, for a total value of $2,698,291.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,505. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 87,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total value of $17,421,653.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 778,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,970,908.80. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 243,339 shares of company stock worth $46,903,454 over the last quarter. Insiders own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of KLAC opened at $157.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $178.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $107.20 and a 1-year high of $307.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.47 earnings per share. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

KLA Company Profile

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.