Northern Trust Corp Increases Position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,100 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,163 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.23% of Plexus worth $51,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PLXS. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,037,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Plexus by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter worth $1,122,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter worth $271,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $24,747,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PLXS. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $162.00 target price (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Plexus from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.67.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other Plexus news, insider Frank Zycinski sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $169,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,827.32. This represents a 62.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total transaction of $173,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,879.12. This trade represents a 49.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,337 shares of company stock worth $746,924 over the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLXS traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.14. The stock had a trading volume of 122,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,270. Plexus Corp. has a 52-week low of $100.96 and a 52-week high of $172.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.03 and a 200 day moving average of $143.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 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 business had revenue of $980.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.