Lester A. Wong Sells 60,000 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. This trade represents a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $49.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KLIC. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,319,000 after acquiring an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 21,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after acquiring an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company 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.