State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,805 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.13% of Benchmark Electronics worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $145,405,000 after purchasing an additional 159,716 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,012,717 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,881,000 after buying an additional 12,112 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Benchmark Electronics during the second quarter worth approximately $70,424,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Benchmark Electronics by 0.3% during the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 646,142 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,269,000 after acquiring an additional 392,699 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were 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 owns 42,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,794,552.90. This trade represents a 14.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $47.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.15. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.75 and a twelve month high of $52.57.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BHE. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Benchmark Electronics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Company 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.