Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Shares Acquired by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLIC. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 31.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,903,559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $141,200,000 after buying an additional 697,496 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 9.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,821,598 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $137,214,000 after acquiring an additional 251,773 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,670,432 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $129,863,000 after purchasing an additional 159,483 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 19.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 820,529 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,903,000 after purchasing an additional 131,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 1.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 676,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

Shares of KLIC stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.04. The company had a trading volume of 203,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,922. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.20 and a twelve month high of $60.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.29 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.22.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $171.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TheStreet lowered Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st.

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.