Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,886 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,305 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Photronics worth $7,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PLAB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,007,582 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,739,000 after acquiring an additional 40,579 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,206,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA boosted its holdings in Photronics by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 56,803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 9,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Photronics by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 799,439 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,893,000 after buying an additional 249,222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,762. This trade represents a 35.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.97, for a total transaction of $299,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 56,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,136,832.19. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,985. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

PLAB stock opened at $19.16 on Wednesday. Photronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $31.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $210.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 14.00%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on PLAB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th.

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.