Emerald Advisers LLC Decreases Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Emerald Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 402,454 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50,491 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $18,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 position in 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 buying an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 54,116 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 15,010 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 530,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after buying an additional 74,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $35.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.00 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.16. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.84 and a 12-month high of $53.71.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.