ARGA Investment Management LP Buys Shares of 26,403 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management LP purchased 26,403 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc., valued at approximately $914,000, during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd and Invesco Ltd., made significant increases in their stakes, indicating growing interest in KLIC.
• Kulicke and Soffa Industries reported earnings of $0.07 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, but experienced an 18.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 26,403 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $914,000. ARGA Investment Management LP owned 0.05% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLIC. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3,534.6% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 461,555 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $15,222,000 after buying an additional 448,856 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 188.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 681,407 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,473,000 after acquiring an additional 445,148 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,401.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 438,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $14,467,000 after purchasing an additional 409,456 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,064,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,645,508 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $56,935,000 after purchasing an additional 207,899 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $40.17 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.47. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.63 and a 1-year high of $52.08. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 502.13 and a beta of 1.57.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.06% and a net margin of 0.90%.The company had revenue of $148.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $145.48 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 18th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is 1,025.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLIC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.07, for a total transaction of $1,112,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 147,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,469,048.31. This trade represents a 16.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.