Bank of America Corp DE Sells 27,421 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 38.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,340 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 27,421 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.12% of Benchmark Electronics worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,846 shares of the technology company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 73,047 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,316,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,151 shares of the technology company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,223,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company's stock.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BHE traded down $0.35 on Wednesday, hitting $37.21. The stock had a trading volume of 180,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,093. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.73 and a twelve month high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total value of $232,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 448,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,398,347.60. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Lake Street Capital decreased their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Benchmark Electronics Company Profile

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.