Congress Asset Management Co. Has $6.90 Million Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,936 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,496 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.27% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $6,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,361,000 after acquiring an additional 44,429 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,533 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,794,000 after acquiring an additional 40,990 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.8% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 88,712 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,977,000 after acquiring an additional 19,279 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KLIC. DA Davidson cut 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 177,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,443,469.48. The trade was a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,391 shares of company stock valued at $7,297,382 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.56. 310,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,323. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.20 and a fifty-two week high of $53.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 362.61 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.86.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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.