Northern Trust Corp Purchases 31,071 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,234 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 31,071 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.16% of Benchmark Electronics worth $18,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Benchmark Electronics during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,151 shares of the technology company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,693 shares of the technology company's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the fourth quarter worth $242,000. 92.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

BHE stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.52. The company had a trading volume of 202,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,826. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.36. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.73 and a 1-year high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $631.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $640.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 2.38%. Benchmark Electronics's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Benchmark Electronics's payout ratio is 46.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Lake Street Capital dropped their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $232,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 448,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,398,347.60. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

About Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.