GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 788 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.8% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 309,681 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,060,000 after purchasing an additional 57,418 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 23.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 250,207 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,168,000 after purchasing an additional 47,903 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in the third quarter worth about $1,259,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.1% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 613,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,842,000 after purchasing an additional 111,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 26.8% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 153,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,444,000 after purchasing an additional 32,383 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.97, for a total transaction of $429,515.87. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLIC. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $47.00 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.20 and a 1 year high of $60.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.50 and a beta of 1.48.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The semiconductor company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($1.19). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $172.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -67.23%.

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.