GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 13,558 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP cut its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 73.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 13,558 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLIC. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $49.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -65.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,469.48. The trade was a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLIC shares. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased 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, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

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.