Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,435 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Benchmark Electronics worth $7,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BHE. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 569.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 416,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,638,000 after purchasing an additional 354,567 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 815,499 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,024,000 after buying an additional 253,730 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,153,257 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,358,000 after buying an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 336,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,276,000 after buying an additional 159,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Benchmark Electronics in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,859,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $38.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.50. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.73 and a 52-week high of $52.57.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $640.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 6.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BHE. Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.