GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 13,558 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP cut its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 73.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 13,558 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,918,000 after acquiring an additional 291,787 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. DDD Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,163,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 443,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,791,000 after buying an additional 161,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 355,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,496,000 after buying an additional 135,444 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC stock opened at $49.17 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Research 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 declared 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 a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -65.04%.

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 repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLIC. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on 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 lowered their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock worth $4,657,261. 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.