CIBC Asset Management Inc Purchases Shares of 5,413 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,443,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,215.11. The trade was a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,391 shares of company stock worth $5,870,582 over the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $39.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.14 and a 200 day moving average of $44.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 331.42 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. On average, research analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company 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.