Herald Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Herald Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 48,000 shares during the quarter. Kulicke and Soffa Industries accounts for 1.8% of Herald Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Herald Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.56% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $9,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,476,131 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $114,643,000 after purchasing an additional 197,619 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,699,897 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $89,043,000 after purchasing an additional 156,144 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,220,000 after purchasing an additional 717,832 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.0% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,351,392 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,569,000 after purchasing an additional 185,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,255,000 after purchasing an additional 77,479 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLIC has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.75.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $34.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 437.25 and a beta of 1.52. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.63 and a 1-year high of $52.08.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $148.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.48 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.90% and a negative return on equity of 1.03%. The company’s revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,025.00%.

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.