Comerica Bank Decreases Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Comerica Bank cut its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,836 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLIC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50,430 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,762,112 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,220,000 after acquiring an additional 717,832 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502,640 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $70,113,000 after acquiring an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $54,379,000 after acquiring an additional 54,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $34,255,000 after purchasing an additional 77,479 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLIC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $50.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $53.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $33.96 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 283.00 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.18.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $161.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.10 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.78%.

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.