Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New $1.71 Million Investment in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 36,672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,711,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 61.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 397.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Performance

KLIC opened at $34.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 287.50 and a beta of 1.38. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.31 and a 52-week high of $53.71.

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

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.