Fisher Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 58,337 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.72% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $18,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,154,000 after acquiring an additional 187,673 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 74,920 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 398,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,972,000 after acquiring an additional 38,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,799 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,613 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of 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. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,443,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 59,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,215.11. This represents a 33.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 11,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $564,082.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,838 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,897.76. The trade was a 35.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 121,391 shares of company stock valued at $5,870,582. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 5.0 %

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $36.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 302.92 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.25 and a 1-year high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.