Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Trading 3.2% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)’s share price traded up 3.2% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $47.71 and last traded at $47.06. 130,431 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 495,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.61.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -65.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KLIC. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. 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 note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the first quarter valued at $29,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $142,943,000 after buying an additional 128,026 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 133.9% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 156,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,897,000 after buying an additional 89,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $571,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.