Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Raises Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its Flex stake by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,251 additional shares and ending with 22,713 shares worth about $1.37 million.
• Institutional ownership in Flex remains very high, with major firms like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, and Norges Bank also expanding or initiating positions; hedge funds and other institutions own 94.3% of the stock.
• Flex reported quarterly earnings of $0.93 per share on revenue of $7.48 billion, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $112.80.

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its stake in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 68.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,713 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 9,251 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in Flex were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Flex by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,341,053,000 after buying an additional 25,662,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Flex by 38.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,259,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $611,997,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377,669 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Flex by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,605,802 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $459,829,000 after purchasing an additional 181,266 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Flex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,756,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Flex by 118.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,811,248 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $162,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,308 shares in the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flex Price Performance

Shares of FLEX opened at $159.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.64. 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 50 day moving average of $100.23 and a 200 day moving average of $76.11. Flex Ltd. has a twelve month low of $42.31 and a twelve month high of $159.86.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Flex

In related news, EVP David Scott Offer sold 22,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.40, for a total transaction of $3,162,988.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 74,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,669,462.40. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 22,216 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.38, for a total transaction of $3,163,114.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 232,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,132,680.28. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 329,512 shares of company stock valued at $44,459,298 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLEX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Flex and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Flex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.80.

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.

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