7,406 Shares in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,406 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,812 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $70,113,000 after acquiring an additional 33,124 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,898 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 212,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 36,290 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,329 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,215.11. This trade represents a 33.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $564,082.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. This represents a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,391 shares of company stock worth $5,870,582 over the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of KLIC traded down $1.37 on Friday, reaching $41.69. 600,502 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 524,562. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $45.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 347.42 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.20 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. Analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.