Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 4,131 shares of Plexus Corp. valued at approximately $529,000, marking a substantial investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Plexus recently reported earnings of $1.90 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 6.0% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year.
• Analysts have upgraded their ratings on Plexus shares, with a consensus target price of $152.00, indicating confidence in the company's growth prospects.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,131 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PLXS. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Plexus by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,264 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plexus by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 146.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,824 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,501,000 after buying an additional 154,003 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Plexus during the 4th quarter valued at $14,246,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Plexus by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,811 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Plexus stock opened at $125.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32 and a beta of 0.80. Plexus Corp. has a 12-month low of $103.43 and a 12-month high of $172.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $132.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Plexus news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 2,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.22, for a total transaction of $272,108.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 26,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,455,305.26. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,224,661.05. This 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 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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