Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Invests $2.59 Million 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) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,198 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.07% of Plexus at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $783,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at $928,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Plexus by 170.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Plexus by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,140 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Plexus by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,948,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In related news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total value of $572,551.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,637 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,518.73. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total transaction of $65,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,224,661.05. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,032 shares of company stock worth $1,582,222. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLXS traded down $3.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.22. The company had a trading volume of 122,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,664. 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 1-year low of $100.96 and a 1-year high of $172.89. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.84 and a 200-day moving average of $139.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.