Texas Permanent School Fund lowered its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,429 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 62,953 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Aperio Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 20,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 82.56% of the company’s stock.
Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Monday, April 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $61.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 26th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 22nd. Finally, B. Riley raised their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.80.
In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 10,578 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.07, for a total value of $540,218.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,816,054.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Lester A. Wong sold 33,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $1,668,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 131,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,634,990.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 51,078 shares of company stock valued at $2,645,868. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Shares of KLIC opened at $47.50 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.69. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.10 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.23 and a beta of 1.18.
Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 4th. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $340.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 25th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is 58.95%.
Kulicke and Soffa Industries Profile
Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates in two segments, Capital Equipment, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The Capital Equipment segment manufactures and sells ball and wedge bonders, and advanced packaging and electronic assembly solutions.
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