Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 15,247 Shares of Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCTT - Free Report) by 78.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,160 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 15,247 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ultra Clean were worth $149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Ultra Clean by 132.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 36,225 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,650 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ultra Clean by 694.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 977 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ultra Clean by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 219,821 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,903,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Ultra Clean by 395.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 83,577 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 66,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ultra Clean in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,988,000. 96.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UCTT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Ultra Clean from $40.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Ultra Clean from $48.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Ultra Clean from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ultra Clean from $60.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Transactions at Ultra Clean

In other news, SVP Jamie J. Palfrey sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $182,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,928. The trade was a 23.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ernest E. Maddock acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.29 per share, for a total transaction of $242,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $267,190. This represents a 1,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ultra Clean Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ UCTT traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 178,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,318. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.66 and a 52-week high of $56.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $921.49 million, a P/E ratio of 256.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.09.

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $518.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.13 million. Ultra Clean had a net margin of 0.18% and a return on equity of 4.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system.