Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 1,720 Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,720 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries worth $2,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLIC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 397.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KLIC shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kulicke and Soffa Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

KLIC opened at $29.55 on Friday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 246.25 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.79.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s payout ratio is 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.