Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 84,703 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 84,703 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $4,635,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.15% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 31.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,903,559 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $141,200,000 after acquiring an additional 697,496 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 102.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 673,859 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $32,770,000 after purchasing an additional 341,300 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,821,598 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $137,214,000 after buying an additional 251,773 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $9,215,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,670,432 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $129,863,000 after acquiring an additional 159,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, Director Peter T. M. Kong acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.51 per share, for a total transaction of $47,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 92,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,374,340.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLIC. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TheStreet lowered shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLIC traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 328,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,296. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.20 and a 52-week high of $60.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $47.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -39.92 and a beta of 1.48.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($1.19). The company had revenue of $172.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.20 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 8.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 20th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 20th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries's payout ratio is currently -67.23%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company 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.