Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Entegris, Inc. $ENTG

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,876,271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 540,755 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Entegris were worth $543,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ENTG. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Entegris by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 182,906 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,912,000 after purchasing an additional 27,813 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Entegris during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,619,000. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Entegris by 176.9% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 181,569 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $16,788,000 after acquiring an additional 116,001 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Entegris by 3.3% during the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,963,000 after buying an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Entegris by 37.4% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,040,349 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $83,904,000 after purchasing an additional 283,402 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Colella sold 3,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.41, for a total transaction of $316,242.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 34,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,038,121.24. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Olivier Blachier sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.43, for a total transaction of $37,785.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,621.32. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,473 shares of company stock valued at $5,666,033. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Entegris Stock Down 3.8%

ENTG stock opened at $118.07 on Friday. Entegris, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.75 and a fifty-two week high of $124.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.47 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 3.44.

Entegris (NASDAQ:ENTG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.72. Entegris had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 8.95%.The business had revenue of $807.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Entegris, Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entegris Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Entegris’s payout ratio is currently 21.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ENTG. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Entegris from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Entegris in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Entegris from $105.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Entegris in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Entegris from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.00.

About Entegris

Entegris, Inc is a leading provider of advanced materials and process control solutions for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries. The company develops and supplies a broad portfolio of products designed to ensure purity and reliability throughout the manufacturing process, helping customers address critical contamination and yield challenges.

Entegris’s product offerings include high-purity chemicals and specialty materials, liquid and gas filtration and purification systems, and sophisticated wafer and chip handling solutions.