Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. $KLIC

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 64,368 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kulicke and Soffa Industries were worth $20,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,513,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,053,000 after acquiring an additional 20,535 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 21.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,348,020 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,241,000 after acquiring an additional 409,116 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,230,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $56,054,000 after acquiring an additional 77,527 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 813,669 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,071,000 after acquiring an additional 148,374 shares during the period. Finally, 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLIC opened at $108.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.37 and a beta of 1.62. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.32 and a 12 month high of $135.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.80.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.12. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $242.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.52) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 49.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000- EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. Kulicke and Soffa Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kulicke and Soffa Industries

In related news, General Counsel Zi Yao Lim sold 1,500 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.98, for a total value of $154,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,214 shares in the company, valued at $2,184,617.72. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter T. M. Kong sold 1,551 shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $170,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,000,990. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,051 shares of company stock worth $11,333,480. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

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.