Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 30,237 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,775,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,237 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.80% of Photronics worth $41,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PLAB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,787,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 799,439 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 249,222 shares during the period. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at $5,163,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 118.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 367,346 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after purchasing an additional 199,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Photronics by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,887 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,565,000 after buying an additional 159,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $17.99 on Wednesday. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.64 and its 200-day moving average is $22.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other Photronics news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.63, for a total value of $216,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,548 shares in the company, valued at $639,123.24. This represents a 25.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 572,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,959,240. This trade represents a 1.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $866,760. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.