First Trust Advisors LP Trims Position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 58,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,839 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $3,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KLIC. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 347.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 767,001 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,945,000 after purchasing an additional 595,753 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 541.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 665,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,038,000 after purchasing an additional 561,571 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 125.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 926,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $60,917,000 after purchasing an additional 514,983 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,241,000 after purchasing an additional 409,116 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 549.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 321,313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,117,000 after buying an additional 271,868 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLIC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Kulicke and Soffa Industries from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.25.

Insider Activity at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, SVP Nelson Munpun Wong sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.72, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 71,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,082.68. The trade was a 17.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lester A. Wong sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.71, for a total transaction of $7,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,743 shares in the company, valued at $6,175,930.53. The trade was a 54.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 98,051 shares of company stock worth $11,333,480 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock opened at $93.84 on Thursday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.32 and a twelve month high of $135.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 90.23 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.98.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $330.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.50 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 7.16%.The business’s revenue was up 122.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.278-1.562 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.85%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) is a global supplier of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. The company specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced die bonding, wire bonding, flip-chip bumping and wafer-level packaging systems. Its solutions support a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, automotive, communications and other high-growth segments within the semiconductor and LED industries.

Key products include precision wire bonders for microelectronic packaging, die attach systems for chip placement, flip-chip bonders for advanced packaging architectures and LED packaging platforms that enable high-volume production of automotive and general-illumination LEDs.