Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Position Reduced by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 354,680 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 134,700 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $19,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 340.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 573 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 224.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 779 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $46.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of -39.21 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day moving average of $49.23. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.20 and a 52 week high of $60.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($1.19). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $172.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 20th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 20th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -67.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Peter T. M. Kong bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $47.51 per share, for a total transaction of $47,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 92,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,374,340.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.