Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,805 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,238 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $73,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLIC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One 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, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 3.2 %

KLIC stock opened at $47.41 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.37, for a total value of $2,782,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,692,721.32. The trade was a 42.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.