AQR Capital Management LLC Has $4.38 Million Holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,560 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 30,668 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Benchmark Electronics worth $4,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 48,425 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,870,000. Institutional investors own 92.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BHE. Lake Street Capital cut their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total value of $232,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 448,180 shares in the company, valued at $17,398,347.60. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,267. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.73 and a 1-year high of $52.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.87 and a 200 day moving average of $42.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $631.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $640.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 6.68%. Benchmark Electronics's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Benchmark Electronics's payout ratio is 46.90%.

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.