Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 12,769 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,341 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,769 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of Benchmark Electronics worth $1,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHE. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,151 shares of the technology company's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,693 shares of the technology company's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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. Lake Street Capital lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction 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 approximately $17,398,347.60. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

BHE stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.83. The stock had a trading volume of 177,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.92. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.73 and a 52 week high of $52.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $631.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $640.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 2.38%. Benchmark Electronics's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Benchmark Electronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.90%.

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.