Advisors Asset Management Inc. Buys 414 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 137.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after purchasing an additional 128,026 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after buying an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,918,000 after acquiring an additional 291,787 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in 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. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,692,721.32. The trade was a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on KLIC shares. Craig Hallum cut their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on 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 upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $48.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $56.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.39.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

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.