Nelson Munpun Wong Sells 30,000 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Stock

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.56, for a total value of $1,426,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 177,533 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,469.48. This trade represents a 14.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $49.17. The stock had a trading volume of 442,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,969. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $56.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.98 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. The company had revenue of $181.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is presently -65.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on 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. One 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 37.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,075,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,918,000 after purchasing an additional 291,787 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after buying an additional 264,638 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 20.3% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,154,000 after buying an additional 187,673 shares during the period. DDD Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter valued at about $8,163,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 57.5% during the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 443,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 161,791 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is 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.