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

Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,351,392 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 185,964 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 2.53% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $44,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLIC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $82,220,000 after acquiring an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter worth $24,109,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $22,134,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3,534.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 448,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 286.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 423,208 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,747,000 after acquiring an additional 313,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on 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, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Down 0.7%

KLIC stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.00. The company had a trading volume of 377,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,755. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.45 and a beta of 1.54. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.63 and a 12 month high of $52.08.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $165.10 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 0.76% and a net margin of 3.11%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio is 227.78%.

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.