Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 4,481 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Plexus Corp. by 27.1%, selling 4,481 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 12,031 shares valued at approximately $1.54 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Plexus, with LPL Financial boosting its stake by 170.5% in the fourth quarter, now owning 8,508 shares worth about $1.33 million.
• Plexus Corp. reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.90 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with analysts forecasting an average target price of $152.00 for the stock.

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,031 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,481 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Plexus were worth $1,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Plexus by 134.0% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Plexus by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Plexus by 185.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Plexus during the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Plexus by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 846 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plexus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael J. Running sold 646 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $84,012.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,931.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total transaction of $65,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,224,661.05. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,710 shares of company stock valued at $2,054,722 over the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of PLXS traded up $2.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $135.23. 50,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 180,969. Plexus Corp. has a 52 week low of $103.43 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $132.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Plexus had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Plexus Company Profile

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.