Barclays PLC Raises Position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,425 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,639 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Plexus worth $8,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $107,489,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in Plexus in the third quarter valued at about $332,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Plexus by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,180 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $783,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Plexus by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $496,814.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $4,281,775.14. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.96, for a total transaction of $205,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,906,206.72. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,597 shares of company stock worth $2,066,030. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLXS traded down $1.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $123.90. 33,751 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,143. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Plexus Corp. has a 52 week low of $99.79 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day moving average price is $125.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.19.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $980.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PLXS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Plexus from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $162.00 price objective (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.67.

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.