Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.0%, acquiring an additional 197,619 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 6.51% of the company.
• Kulicke and Soffa Industries reported a net margin of 0.90% and a revenue of $148.41 million for the last quarter, despite facing an 18.3% decrease in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, with a notable payout ratio of 1,025.00%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,476,131 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 197,619 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.51% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $114,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 266,466 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,667 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,770.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,095 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18,074 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 99.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $2,916,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,647 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,496,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.07, for a total transaction of $1,112,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 147,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,469,048.31. This trade represents a 16.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

KLIC traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $37.62. The company had a trading volume of 618,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,586. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.63 and a 52-week high of $52.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 470.25 and a beta of 1.52.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.90% and a negative return on equity of 1.06%. The business had revenue of $148.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.48 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's quarterly revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,025.00%.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.