Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 21,946 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,040,000 after buying an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 0.3 %

KLIC opened at $46.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson decreased 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 note on Friday. Craig Hallum dropped their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

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.