Woodline Partners LP Grows Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP significantly increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1,401.7%, owning approximately 0.83% of the company worth $14.47 million after acquiring 409,456 additional shares.
• Analysts are optimistic about Kulicke and Soffa Industries, with brokerages raising their price targets and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." The current price target averages $44.33.
• Kulicke and Soffa Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 1,025.00%.

Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) by 1,401.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 409,456 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.83% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $14,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,476,131 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $114,643,000 after purchasing an additional 197,619 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,699,897 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $89,043,000 after buying an additional 156,144 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,938,904 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $63,945,000 after buying an additional 176,792 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,351,392 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,569,000 after buying an additional 185,964 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,146,518 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,813,000 after buying an additional 148,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In other news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $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 at this link. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.26. The company had a trading volume of 325,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,076. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 503.63 and a beta of 1.56. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.63 and a 1 year high of $52.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $36.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.37.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is currently 1,025.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLIC has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.33.

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.