D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,466 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 302,036 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.65% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $16,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 85.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,604 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,361,000 after purchasing an additional 44,429 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter worth $548,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 163,491 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,628,000 after buying an additional 12,355 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $346,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 50,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $33.96 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.18. 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 capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 283.00 and a beta of 1.53.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.71). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $161.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given 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 2.41%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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