Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) CEO Sells $3,863,200.00 in Stock

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,155,941.85. The trade was a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $48.23 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.21 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.43.

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 firm had revenue of $181.30 million for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in 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 during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLIC. DA Davidson lowered 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. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.