Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Director Sells $1,443,300.00 in Stock

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Director Chin Hu Lim sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total transaction of $1,443,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 59,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,215.11. The trade was a 33.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 588,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,968. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.71 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $38.20 and a one year high of $56.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.46.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KLIC. DA Davidson decreased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of 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 note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 2nd quarter worth about $340,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 17,075.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 33,970 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 3,849 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.6% during the second quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.4% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 315,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,577,000 after buying an additional 29,800 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.