First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 823.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,585 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 163,697 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.29% of Photronics worth $4,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,007,582 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $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 worth $298,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 376,726 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,876,000 after acquiring an additional 44,602 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,868,889 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $138,271,000 after acquiring an additional 29,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth about $3,472,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Photronics Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $18.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.48.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,360. The trade was a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $95,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,339.68. This represents a 16.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,548 shares of company stock valued at $1,093,093 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

About Photronics

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.

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