Plexus Corp. $PLXS Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Plexus Corp. by 1.8%, owning about 744,535 shares valued at approximately $95.40 million as of the most recent quarter.
• Insider transactions included CEO Todd P. Kelsey selling 1,500 shares, while overall insider sales exceeded 8,400 shares worth over $1 million in the last three months.
• Plexus Corp. reported earnings per share of $1.90 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and analysts predict an average of 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 744,535 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 13,996 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 2.75% of Plexus worth $95,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Plexus by 120.4% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 348,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,655,000 after acquiring an additional 190,360 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plexus during the first quarter worth $22,975,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Plexus by 19,069.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 170,797 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,884,000 after acquiring an additional 169,906 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Plexus by 24.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 678,222 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,901,000 after acquiring an additional 134,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Plexus by 66.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,741 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,130,000 after acquiring an additional 84,249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 2,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total value of $274,163.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,759,246.65. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 1,576 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.78, for a total transaction of $217,141.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 24,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,374,921.10. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,856 shares of company stock worth $1,725,080. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Plexus Stock Down 1.9%

Plexus stock traded down $2.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $137.01. 108,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 137,624. Plexus Corp. has a 1 year low of $103.43 and a 1 year high of $172.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. Plexus had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Plexus has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.820-1.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PLXS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Plexus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Sidoti raised shares of Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.00.

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.