Kennedy Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,562 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,971 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Plexus worth $5,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 402,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,510,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 85,792 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,277,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter valued at $1,481,000. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 64,424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,966,000 after buying an additional 9,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Plexus by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,267 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of PLXS traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.11. 9,185 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,618. Plexus Corp. has a 1-year low of $87.21 and a 1-year high of $132.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.34 and a 200-day moving average of $101.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.17. Plexus had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $960.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $981.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In related news, insider Steven J. Frisch sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.19, for a total transaction of $75,733.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,070,865.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.50, for a total value of $205,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,012.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven J. Frisch sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.19, for a total transaction of $75,733.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,070,865.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,847. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PLXS shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Plexus from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Plexus from $114.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Plexus from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plexus has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

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.