Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 713,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 7,201 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Photronics were worth $16,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Photronics during the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Photronics by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,217,000 after buying an additional 85,160 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Photronics by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 135,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 35,825 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Photronics by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,007,582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,739,000 after buying an additional 40,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

NASDAQ PLAB opened at $20.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.43. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.42.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.63, for a total value of $277,087.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 118,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,340. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $213,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 572,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,959,240. This represents a 1.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $1,407,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.