Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $1,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,278,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $152,975,000 after buying an additional 50,430 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $70,113,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,165,428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,116 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 708,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,056,000 after purchasing an additional 15,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 74,920 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of KLIC opened at $29.87 on Monday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.63 and a fifty-two week high of $53.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 248.92 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.12.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 683.33%.

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.