Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $20,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KLIC. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $47.41 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.20 and a 12-month high of $56.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.39.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment.