Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,168 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLICFree Report) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,168 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.05% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in 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. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,154,000 after purchasing an additional 187,673 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,918,000 after buying an additional 291,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 worth $33,040,000 after buying an additional 73,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 452,945 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after buying an additional 9,943 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total transaction of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,100,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.76 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 and a 52-week high of $56.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.73. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.83 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLICGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $180.03 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Get Our Latest Report on KLIC

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLIC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLICFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Receive News & Ratings for Kulicke and Soffa Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kulicke and Soffa Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.