Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ:CAMT - Free Report) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,248 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 25,970 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Camtek worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Camtek by 364.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 413 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Camtek by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 413 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Camtek by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 2,150 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Camtek in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Camtek by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Northland Securities set a $105.00 price objective on Camtek in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Camtek from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Camtek from $120.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Camtek from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Camtek from $110.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.78.

Camtek Stock Performance

Shares of CAMT traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $65.78. The stock had a trading volume of 352,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,228. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 5.00 and a quick ratio of 4.11. Camtek Ltd. has a 12 month low of $47.41 and a 12 month high of $140.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.18.

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The semiconductor company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $118.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.00 million. Camtek had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 24.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Camtek Ltd. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Camtek Company Profile

Camtek Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells inspection and metrology equipment for semiconductor industry. The company provides Eagle-i, a system that delivers 2D inspection and metrology capabilities; Eagle-AP, which addresses the advanced packaging market using software and hardware technologies that deliver superior 2D and 3D inspection and metrology capabilities on the same platform; and Golden Eagle, a panel inspection and metrology system to address the challenges fanout wafer level packaging applications.