Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 918 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 10.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 918 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the second quarter valued at $73,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,900.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. This represents a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 note on Friday, November 15th. 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective 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, November 15th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.39. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign 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 $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -65.04%.

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.