Capital Investment Counsel Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc decreased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,490 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during 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 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 acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. The trade was a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 121,391 shares of company stock worth $5,870,582 over the last ninety days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of KLIC opened at $43.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 358.83 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.87. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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.