UBS Group AG Cuts Stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 39,899 shares and leaving it with 107,026 shares valued at about $4.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment improved overall, with several firms upgrading the stock and Needham raising its price target from $70 to $105; the consensus rating is currently “Moderate Buy” with a $59.25 target.
• The company posted a strong quarter, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $0.79 and revenue of $242.62 million, while also reporting insider selling, including a director who sold 20,000 shares at $100 each.

UBS Group AG lowered its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,026 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 39,899 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.20% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $4,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,513,023 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,053,000 after buying an additional 20,535 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $81,241,000 after purchasing an additional 409,116 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 718,632 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $24,865,000 after purchasing an additional 37,225 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 541.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 665,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,038,000 after purchasing an additional 561,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 607,136 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,661,000 after purchasing an additional 175,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KLIC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.25.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $101.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.94 and a 200 day moving average of $62.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.20 and a beta of 1.66. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.21 and a 1 year high of $107.01.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, Director Mui Sung Yeo sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 59,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,919,700. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,864 shares of company stock worth $2,830,457. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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