Ethic Inc. Grows Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,007 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,361,000 after buying an additional 44,429 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 163,491 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after buying an additional 12,355 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $152,975,000 after buying an additional 50,430 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ KLIC opened at $34.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.01. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.63 and a 52 week high of $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 284.50 and a beta of 1.53.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.71). The firm had revenue of $161.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.10 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLIC. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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.