William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 740,721 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 57,519 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.40% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $25,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $8,788,000 after buying an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.5% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,645,508 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $56,935,000 after buying an additional 207,899 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 134.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,858 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 10,826 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 45,945 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 7,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $37.07, for a total value of $1,112,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 147,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,469,048.31. The trade was a 16.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $38.86 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 485.75 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.27. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.63 and a 52-week high of $52.08.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $148.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.48 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.90% and a negative return on equity of 1.06%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is 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.

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