MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 11,878 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,878 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 266,466 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,788,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,770.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,095 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 18,074 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 99.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $152,975,000 after buying an additional 50,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of KLIC traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.90. 377,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,663. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.72 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.78.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $161.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.10 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 3.11% and a return on equity of 0.76%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is 227.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

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.