Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 35,122 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 26.2%, owning 169,328 shares valued at approximately $5.58 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Victory Capital Management, also boosted their stakes in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the first quarter.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for the company, with DA Davidson reducing it from $60 to $55, while TD Cowen and Needham & Company raised their targets to $38 and $40 respectively.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,122 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $5,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 28,663 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 99.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,203 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock traded up $0.3860 during trading on Thursday, hitting $36.2760. 210,944 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 593,984. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 454.24 and a beta of 1.52. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.63 and a twelve month high of $52.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.93.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $148.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is 1,025.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.33.

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.