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

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 46.4% during 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 period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.65% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $16,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $152,975,000 after purchasing an additional 50,430 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $82,220,000 after purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $70,113,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,165,428 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $54,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,255,000 after purchasing an additional 77,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 418,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,329. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.63 and a 12-month high of $53.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 281.83 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.85.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is 227.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.