Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 17,380 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 17,380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $11,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,900.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLIC shares. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, 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. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

KLIC stock opened at $46.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.35.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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.