KBC Group NV Buys 1,659,384 Shares of Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• KBC Group NV dramatically increased its Flex stake in the first quarter, buying 1,659,384 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 1,965,811 shares worth about $128.7 million.
• Flex reported solid recent results, posting $7.48 billion in quarterly revenue and $0.93 EPS; analysts currently expect the company to earn 4.18 EPS for the full year.
• Despite insider selling by executives including Michael P. Hartung and Kwang Hooi Tan, Wall Street remains generally positive on Flex, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $115.70.

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 541.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,965,811 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,659,384 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.53% of Flex worth $128,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Flex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Flex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Flex by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 457 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flex in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Flex by 6,318.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 706 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flex Stock Performance

Shares of FLEX opened at $119.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.18, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.64. Flex Ltd. has a twelve month low of $47.83 and a twelve month 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.02.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm 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, research analysts anticipate that Flex Ltd. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 22,627 shares of the business'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 transaction of $3,269,148.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 253,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,582,191.52. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 26,657 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.48, for a total value of $3,851,403.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 257,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,207,500.96. This represents a 9.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock worth $110,116,823. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FLEX. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Flex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.