Capital International Investors Trims Stock Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Capital International Investors trimmed its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,306,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 392,432 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 8.07% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $200,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,875,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 431,945 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,155,000 after acquiring an additional 145,066 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,492,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 355,537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,589,000 after purchasing an additional 93,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 74,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.06. 131,731 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 608,051. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 267.30 and a beta of 1.50. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.63 and a 52 week high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 683.33%.

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.