Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total transaction of $2,782,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,692,721.32. This represents a 42.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $41.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 342.25 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.89. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. On average, research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

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

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.