Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 918 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 918 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 21,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after buying an additional 73,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,692,721.32. This represents a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. 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. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report 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 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research 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, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.41 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.39. The firm 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 one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 given 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 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is currently -65.04%.

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.