Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,520,997 Shares of Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) by 235.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,014,198 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,520,997 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 3.31% of Entegris worth $438,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ENTG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Entegris in the 4th quarter valued at $445,988,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Entegris by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,194,612 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,108,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,463 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Entegris by 329.4% during the 4th quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,752,902 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,801 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Entegris by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,470,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,903 shares during the period. Finally, TPG GP A LLC bought a new stake in Entegris in the fourth quarter valued at about $115,639,000.

Entegris Stock Up 5.0%

NASDAQ ENTG opened at $86.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. Entegris, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.75 and a 52 week high of $147.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 3.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.62 and a 200-day moving average of $89.16.

Entegris (NASDAQ:ENTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $773.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.75 million. Entegris had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 9.57%. Entegris’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entegris, Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Entegris Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Entegris’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ENTG shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Entegris from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Entegris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Entegris in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Entegris from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Entegris from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

About Entegris

Entegris, Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies microcontamination control products, specialty chemicals, and advanced materials handling solutions in North America, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. It operates in three segments: Materials Solutions (MS); Microcontamination Control (MC); and Advanced Materials Handling (AMH).