Meritage Portfolio Management Has $318,000 Stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,812 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 418.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,404,000 after purchasing an additional 55,862 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,384 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 56.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 41.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,216 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total transaction of $3,863,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,100,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,155,941.85. This represents a 6.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chan Pin Chong sold 9,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total transaction of $448,261.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,773,870.12. This represents a 10.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 221,121 shares of company stock valued at $10,527,843. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 1.8 %

KLIC stock opened at $42.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.63 and a beta of 1.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.20 and a 12 month high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 0.92% and a negative net margin of 9.77%. On average, research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.