Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock Position Reduced by Bank Hapoalim BM

Bank Hapoalim BM lessened its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,385 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the period. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,794,000 after purchasing an additional 40,990 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 19,279 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson cut 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. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC opened at $43.40 on Wednesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.28 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.23.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. This represents a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.