Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,598 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 8,074 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.05% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $152,975,000 after purchasing an additional 50,430 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,255,000 after purchasing an additional 77,479 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 708,441 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $33,056,000 after purchasing an additional 15,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.18. 332,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,886. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.63 and a 12-month high of $52.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.72 and a beta of 1.54. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.85.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.71). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 3.11% and a return on equity of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $161.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 disclosed 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 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is 227.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLIC has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries 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.