Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Grows Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 35.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,537 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 93,200 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $16,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $152,975,000 after acquiring an additional 50,430 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $70,113,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,165,428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 708,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,056,000 after purchasing an additional 15,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 74,920 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KLIC shares. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

KLIC stock opened at $30.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 253.92 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.93. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.63 and a fifty-two week high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 683.33%.

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.