Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,970 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.52% of Plexus worth $18,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Plexus by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Plexus by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Plexus by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Plexus by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 846 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of Plexus stock traded down $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $133.93. 113,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 170,570. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.65 and a 200 day moving average of $135.38. Plexus Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $103.43 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.12. Plexus had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $980.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PLXS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Plexus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price target on Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total value of $65,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,224,661.05. This represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 646 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus 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.