Royce & Associates LP Raises Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,111,312 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,673 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $50,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 127.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 14,480 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,469,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,319,000 after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,040,000 after purchasing an additional 73,243 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 21,946 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $45.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.36. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.20 and a 52 week high of $56.71. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.08 and a beta of 1.38.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This is an increase from Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is -65.04%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 13th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.