State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,174 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,854 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.07% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the first quarter valued at $26,036,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,531,000. DDD Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,163,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 443,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,791,000 after buying an additional 161,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 355,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,496,000 after buying an additional 135,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock opened at $41.56 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -34.92 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.21.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.05. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 0.61% and a negative net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $181.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -67.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLIC shares. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Profile

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.