The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,044,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 31,510 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.92% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $47,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped 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 report 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other 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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total transaction of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $47.41 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $45.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.41. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid 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 a positive change 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 presently -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.