147,345 Shares in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 147,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,875,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLIC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% in 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 during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 397.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of 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 worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Trading Down 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC opened at $27.65 on Wednesday. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.63 and a 1-year high of $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 230.42 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.45.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 0.48%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued 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 2.97%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 683.33%.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company 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.