Allstate Corp Takes Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Allstate Corp initiated a new position in Flex Ltd. during the fourth quarter, buying 31,855 shares worth about $1.93 million.
• Institutional ownership in Flex remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 94.3% of the stock; Vanguard also sharply increased its stake in the company last quarter.
• Flex reported solid recent results and received mixed-to-bullish analyst attention, including an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $112.80, though some insiders sold shares in May.

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,855 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,925,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLEX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Flex by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after acquiring an additional 25,662,586 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Flex by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,393,463 shares of the technology company's stock worth $138,749,000 after acquiring an additional 360,553 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in Flex in the fourth quarter worth about $2,497,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Flex in the third quarter worth about $1,058,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Flex in the fourth quarter worth about $2,056,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.30% of the company's stock.

Flex Stock Down 0.6%

Flex stock opened at $144.85 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.89. The stock has a market cap of $53.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.17, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Flex Ltd. has a 52 week low of $41.43 and a 52 week high of $147.76.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. On average, analysts expect that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FLEX shares. Raymond James Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Flex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Flex from $72.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Flex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 22,216 shares of Flex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.38, for a total value of $3,163,114.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 232,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,132,680.28. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP David Scott Offer sold 22,212 shares of Flex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.40, for a total transaction of $3,162,988.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 74,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,669,462.40. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 329,512 shares of company stock valued at $44,459,298 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Profile

Flex NASDAQ: FLEX, formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.

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