Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Stake Lifted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 49.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 846 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Plexus were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PLXS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $85,128,000 after acquiring an additional 228,027 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 19,069.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 170,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,884,000 after acquiring an additional 169,906 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Plexus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,747,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Plexus by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,824 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,501,000 after buying an additional 154,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Plexus by 1,875.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 137,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,511,000 after buying an additional 130,506 shares in the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.87, for a total value of $194,805.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,768,042.18. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total transaction of $84,012.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,931.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,032 shares of company stock worth $1,582,222 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PLXS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Plexus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $162.00 target price (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.67.

Plexus Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $134.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13 and a beta of 0.81. Plexus Corp. has a 52 week low of $100.96 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.78.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. Plexus had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Plexus Company 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.