Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Purchased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 212,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,290 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $9,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLIC. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after purchasing an additional 44,429 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,794,000 after buying an additional 40,990 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after buying an additional 19,279 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 11,836 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of KLIC opened at $47.33 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.66. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.48 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,692,721.32. This trade represents a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson dropped 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

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.