Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Increases Holdings in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its Flex stake by 49.7% in the first quarter, adding 43,200 shares to reach 130,100 shares valued at about $8.5 million.
• Flex remains heavily owned by institutions, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 94.3% of the company’s shares. Several other funds also reported modest to sizable increases in their positions.
• Insider selling was notable, including sales by CEO Revathi Advaithi and insider Michael P. Hartung; over the past three months, insiders have sold 769,195 shares worth roughly $110.1 million.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,100 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Flex were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Flex by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 457 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Flex by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,588 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of Flex by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 30,881 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Flex by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,159 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Flex by 1.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,729 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FLEX. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Flex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Flex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 22,627 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.48, for a total value of $3,269,148.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 253,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,582,191.52. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 197,879 shares of Flex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.32, for a total value of $28,557,897.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 623,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,978,613.12. This trade represents a 24.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 769,195 shares of company stock worth $110,116,823. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Flex Price Performance

Flex stock opened at $136.85 on Friday. Flex Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.83 and a 52-week high of $166.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average is $137.84 and its 200 day moving average is $91.11. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.73, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.64.

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

About Flex

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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