Copeland Capital Management LLC Buys 33,124 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Kulicke and Soffa Industries makes up approximately 1.3% of Copeland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 2.79% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $70,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,735 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $448,261.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 59,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. This trade represents a 33.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 over the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 0.0 %

KLIC stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.35. The company had a trading volume of 451,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,646. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.06 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.31. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts predict 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 has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

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.