BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Raises Stock Position in Plexus Corp. $PLXS

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 975,612 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,257 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 3.60% of Plexus worth $125,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plexus by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,901,000 after acquiring an additional 134,205 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Plexus by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 351,557 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,012,000 after buying an additional 21,911 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Plexus by 120.4% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 348,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,655,000 after acquiring an additional 190,360 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 332,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,967,000 after purchasing an additional 30,163 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Plexus by 66.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,741 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,130,000 after buying an additional 84,249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In other Plexus news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total value of $65,385.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,224,661.05. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.42, for a total value of $284,054.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 23,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,522.78. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,482,171. 1.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Plexus Trading Down 1.3%

PLXS stock opened at $130.97 on Monday. Plexus Corp. has a 12-month low of $103.43 and a 12-month high of $172.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $132.64 and its 200 day moving average is $130.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. Plexus had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 4.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLXS. Sidoti raised shares of Plexus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Plexus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on Plexus in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.00.

About Plexus

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.