Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 7.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 133,922 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,519 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Plexus were worth $18,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,515,866 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $333,374,000 after acquiring an additional 74,988 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in shares of Plexus by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,109,047 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $217,611,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Plexus by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,366,000 after purchasing an additional 87,574 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 3.0% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 788,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Plexus by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 453,308 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,772,000 after purchasing an additional 31,099 shares in the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Trading Down 1.4 %

Plexus stock opened at $153.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $138.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.51. Plexus Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.18 and a 1 year high of $169.41.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Plexus had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 5,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.06, for a total transaction of $950,738.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,271,870.10. This trade represents a 22.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total value of $64,010.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,199.72. This represents a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,973 shares of company stock worth $5,411,746. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PLXS. Benchmark increased their target price on Plexus from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Plexus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.50.

Plexus Profile

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors.