Quest Partners LLC Sells 1,845 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Quest Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 34.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,523 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,900.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 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 Down 3.2 %

Shares of KLIC opened at $47.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.63 and a 200 day moving average of $45.41. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of -38.54 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.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released 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 return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost 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 -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261 in the last three months. 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.