Royce & Associates LP Has $6.98 Million Stake in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its Flex stake by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 51,275 shares and leaving it with 115,479 shares valued at about $6.98 million.
• Several other institutional investors were active in Flex, with Vanguard sharply increasing its position and institutional ownership overall accounting for 94.3% of the stock.
• Flex insiders also sold shares recently, including the CEO and COO; meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $112.80.

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,479 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 51,275 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Flex were worth $6,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Flex by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after buying an additional 25,662,586 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Flex by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,393,463 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $138,749,000 after buying an additional 360,553 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in Flex in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,497,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Flex in the third quarter valued at about $1,058,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Flex in the fourth quarter worth about $2,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flex

In related news, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 26,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total transaction of $3,726,534.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 256,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,452,841.91. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 114,090 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total value of $16,242,993.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 689,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,096,062.14. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 329,512 shares of company stock valued at $44,459,298 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:FLEX opened at $144.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $53.07 billion, a PE ratio of 62.17, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.46. Flex Ltd. has a 52-week low of $41.43 and a 52-week high of $147.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.89.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Flex had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 3.15%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FLEX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Flex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Flex from $72.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Flex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.80.

Flex 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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