BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,005 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,450 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.07% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,154,000 after buying an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,040,000 after acquiring an additional 73,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 9,943 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 359,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,724. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -39.21 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.40 and its 200-day moving average is $45.44. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $181.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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%. The firm's revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is a boost from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares in the company, valued at $53,155,941.85. This represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,443,469.48. This represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 179,730 shares of company stock valued at $8,520,461. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.