Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 105.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,079 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 75,043 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.27% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $6,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,841,236 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $142,943,000 after acquiring an additional 128,026 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during 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 period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $52,918,000 after buying an additional 291,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% in 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 buying an additional 73,243 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,870.12. This trade represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,730 shares of company stock valued at $4,657,261. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.17. 442,997 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,178. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $56.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.06 and a 200 day moving average of $45.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative net margin of 9.77% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is currently -65.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.40.

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.