Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Takes Position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,198 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.07% of Plexus as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter valued at $783,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Plexus by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 16,230 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Plexus by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 138,367 shares of the technology company's stock worth $21,652,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Plexus by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,937 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Trading Down 1.0%

PLXS traded down $1.34 on Thursday, reaching $133.29. 40,760 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,586. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.53. Plexus Corp. has a twelve month low of $100.96 and a twelve month high of $172.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $127.05 and its 200-day moving average is $140.03.

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. Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. The firm had revenue of $980.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Plexus's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Plexus news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total value of $572,551.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $130,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,232,820. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PLXS. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $162.00 target price (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price target on Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.67.

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.