Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,744 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Plexus were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Plexus by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Plexus by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Plexus by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLXS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 price target (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday, April 25th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Plexus from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total value of $173,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,879.12. This trade represents a 49.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Randy J. Martinez sold 887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.52, for a total transaction of $124,641.24. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,852.12. This represents a 15.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,137 shares of company stock valued at $577,916 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Plexus stock opened at $133.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $124.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.28. Plexus Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $100.96 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.07 million. Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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.