Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) EVP Sells $448,261.10 in Stock

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of KLIC traded up $1.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.46. 563,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,234. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -37.97 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.36. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 1.32 EPS for the current year.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid 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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after purchasing an additional 128,026 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $571,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $265,000. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 29,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 3,384 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $195,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on KLIC shares. Craig Hallum dropped 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.