Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 7,201 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 713,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 7,201 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.13% of Photronics worth $16,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Photronics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 90,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Photronics by 216.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Photronics by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Photronics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 57,015 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Photronics Stock Up 0.7 %

PLAB stock opened at $20.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.43. Photronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $31.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.72 and its 200-day moving average is $23.42.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total transaction of $209,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,538,890. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.63, for a total transaction of $277,087.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 118,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,340. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $1,407,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Photronics 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.