Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 47,762 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,453,940 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 47,762 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.56% of Plexus worth $321,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PLXS. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Plexus by 234.0% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 596,047 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,157,000 after purchasing an additional 417,598 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Plexus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,856,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Plexus in the third quarter worth approximately $13,279,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Plexus by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 303,571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,247,000 after purchasing an additional 140,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Plexus by 414.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 171,120 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 137,842 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.47, for a total value of $453,291.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 49,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,764,239.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Plexus news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.47, for a total value of $453,291.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 49,903 shares in the company, valued at $4,764,239.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.18, for a total value of $358,982.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,972,232.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,453 shares of company stock valued at $3,324,075. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $93.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 1.02. Plexus Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $83.84 and a fifty-two week high of $114.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.83.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The technology company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $982.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $982.57 million. Plexus had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLXS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sidoti cut shares of Plexus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet cut shares of Plexus from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Plexus from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.67.

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.