Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 11,593 Shares of Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its Flex stake by 41.8% in the first quarter, selling 11,593 shares and leaving it with 16,170 shares valued at about $1.06 million.
• Flex insiders also sold shares, including CEO Revathi Advaithi and insider Michael P. Hartung, with total insider sales reaching 769,195 shares worth about $110.1 million over the last 90 days.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Flex: analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, and the average price target stands at $115.70, while shares recently traded around $162.07 after a 1.6% gain.

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,170 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,593 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Flex were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Flex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Flex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Flex by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 457 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flex during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Flex by 6,318.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 706 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flex news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 7,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.22, for a total value of $1,055,604.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 245,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,713,954.60. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 39,188 shares of Flex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.18, for a total transaction of $5,689,313.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 584,278 shares in the company, valued at $84,825,480.04. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 769,195 shares of company stock worth $110,116,823 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FLEX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on Flex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FLEX opened at $162.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a PE ratio of 69.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.36. Flex Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.83 and a 52-week high of $166.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.39 and a 200 day moving average of $89.72.

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

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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