CCM Investment Advisers LLC Buys 1,021 Shares of KLA Corporation $KLAC

CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $14,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 125.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 28.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $1,543.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $202.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.45. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,693.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,482.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,275.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by $0.10. KLA had a return on equity of 98.18% and a net margin of 35.76%.The company had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.20 EPS. KLA’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $7.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

KLA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA’s Investor Day items — a new $7 billion share‑repurchase program, a 21% dividend increase and reaffirmed near‑term guidance — continue to underpin upside expectations tied to AI and advanced-node spending. KLA jumps as investors refocus on recent capital-return boost and AI-driven demand backdrop
• Positive Sentiment: Industry demand tailwinds — analysts and Zacks highlight advanced packaging and AI chip ramps as multi‑year revenue drivers for wafer‑fab equipment suppliers like KLA, supporting higher long‑term earnings expectations. Advanced Packaging Growth Drives KLAC’s Prospects: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Supply‑chain upstream demand signals — commentary on Micron’s large capex plans identifies supplier winners; investors may view KLA as a beneficiary of broader memory and logic equipment spending. 3 Winners From Micron’s Huge Capex Guide
• Neutral Sentiment: Bullish research notes and high analyst price targets (median ~$1,700) provide continued upside reference points, but they are already priced into a rich multiple (forward P/E near 30). Is KLA Corporation (KLAC) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term weakness and relative underperformance — market coverage notes KLAC underperformed peers and the stock showed a modest dip in recent sessions, suggesting profit‑taking after earlier gains. KLA Corp. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and headline‑level stock dips have raised caution among some traders—these items can amplify short‑term volatility despite solid fundamentals. KLA jumps as investors refocus on recent capital-return boost and AI-driven demand backdrop
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in published feeds appears inconsistent (zero/NaN entries); current readings don’t provide a reliable signal of mounting bearish bets. (Multiple data posts.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $1,835.00 price objective on KLA and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $1,850.00 to $1,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group set a $1,575.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,630.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,760.00 to $1,770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,602.29.

About KLA

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.