Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stake Increased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,512 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,337 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Photronics were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,217,000 after purchasing an additional 85,160 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 4.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 40,579 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Photronics by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 376,726 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,876,000 after buying an additional 44,602 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares in the company, valued at $11,538,890. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $331,306.24. This represents a 28.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $866,760 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Photronics Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $18.05 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.06. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.40.

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

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.