Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Position Reduced by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,249 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 15,338 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.75% of Plexus worth $31,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PLXS. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Plexus in the fourth quarter worth $107,489,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,017 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,128,000 after buying an additional 228,027 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 351,557 shares of the technology company's stock worth $55,012,000 after buying an additional 21,911 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 332,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,967,000 after buying an additional 30,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 146.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,824 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,501,000 after buying an additional 154,003 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLXS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.67.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.68, for a total transaction of $263,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,101,699.52. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total transaction of $572,551.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,518.73. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $965,911. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus Stock Performance

PLXS stock traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $130.69. The company had a trading volume of 58,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,955. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.84. Plexus Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $100.96 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.07 million. Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

About Plexus

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.