KBC Group NV Acquires 1,506 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 76.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Photronics were worth $82,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 137.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Photronics by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Photronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Photronics by 65.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB opened at $22.52 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.19 and a 200-day moving average of $23.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.37. Photronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.25 and a fifty-two week high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $222.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $218.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total value of $1,565,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 219,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,275.10. The trade was a 22.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $476,172.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,250 shares in the company, valued at $536,447.50. This represents a 47.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 199,000 shares of company stock worth $4,878,810. Company insiders own 3.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson upped their target price on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Photronics Company Profile

Photronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates.