Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 64,368 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 25.9% in the first quarter, buying 64,368 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 313,321 shares worth about $20.6 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on KLIC: Needham raised its price target to $105 and kept a buy rating, but the overall consensus is still Hold with an average target price of $59.25.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.79 beating estimates and revenue up 49.8% year over year to $242.62 million, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 313,321 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,368 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $20,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 779 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KLIC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.25.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 8.5%

Shares of KLIC stock opened at $108.54 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $110.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.80. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 104.37 and a beta of 1.62. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.32 and a 12-month high of $135.80.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm had revenue of $242.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.52) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 49.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000- EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.98, for a total transaction of $154,470.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,184,617.72. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total transaction of $7,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,743 shares in the company, valued at $6,175,930.53. The trade was a 54.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,051 shares of company stock valued at $11,333,480. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Profile

Kulicke & Soffa Industries NASDAQ: KLIC is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.

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