B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $945,000 in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,321 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $945,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG owned 0.06% of Benchmark Electronics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BHE. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the first quarter valued at $136,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the first quarter valued at $214,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 31.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 18,313 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 4,368 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the first quarter valued at $430,000. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Up 1.1 %

BHE opened at $48.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.36. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a one year low of $24.75 and a one year high of $52.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Transactions at Benchmark Electronics

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total value of $281,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,073 shares of company stock worth $1,685,497. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BHE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.