Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $32,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 105.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 146,079 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,593,000 after buying an additional 75,043 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 46,216 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,042 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 24,081 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLIC. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective 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. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 2.1 %

KLIC opened at $48.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.37 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.39. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

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.