Citigroup Inc. Acquires 40,990 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 37.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,990 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.28% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $6,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in 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 worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.6% in the second quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $48.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.77 and its 200 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.