Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 12,436 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,042 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,436 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,012,717 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,881,000 after acquiring an additional 12,112 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 17.1% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 27,692 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,269,000 after acquiring an additional 392,699 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.8% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 38,215 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Lake Street Capital lifted their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total value of $302,017.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,552.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

Shares of BHE stock opened at $44.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 0.98. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.66 and a 12 month high of $48.58.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $666.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.75 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. This is a positive change from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.16%.

Benchmark Electronics Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.