Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 11,836 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 32.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 11,836 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.09% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLIC. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on 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, DA Davidson reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.95. 1,884,131 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 507,948. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.17 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 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $180.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Kulicke and Soffa Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,773,870.12. The trade was a 10.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total transaction of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This trade represents a 6.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 221,121 shares of company stock worth $10,527,843 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.