Earnest Partners LLC Has $118.70 Million Stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 758,531 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,418 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 2.81% of Plexus worth $118,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Plexus during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Plexus by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Plexus during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.96, for a total transaction of $205,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,906,206.72. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Frank Zycinski sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $169,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,827.32. This trade represents a 62.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,174 shares of company stock worth $1,569,216 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PLXS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Plexus from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.67.

Plexus Price Performance

PLXS traded up $3.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.96. 39,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,890. Plexus Corp. has a one year low of $100.94 and a one year high of $172.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

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.