Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 17,380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $11,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the 1st 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the second 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after acquiring an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 452,945 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 9,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $46.19 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.35.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -65.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 research report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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.