Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,005 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 10,450 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 308.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 10,097 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 40,990 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $608,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $48.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.21 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 moving average price is $46.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.44.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,692,721.32. This trade represents a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 179,730 shares of company stock worth $8,520,461. Company 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.