Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 8,562 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,638,937 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,562 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.46% of Plexus worth $466,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PLXS. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Plexus by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Plexus by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Plexus by 185.6% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Plexus by 49.2% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 846 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PLXS shares. Sidoti raised Plexus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Plexus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on Plexus in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 2,058 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.22, for a total transaction of $272,108.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,455,305.26. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 2,178 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.42, for a total value of $284,054.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 23,459 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,522.78. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,482,171. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Plexus Stock Down 1.3%

PLXS stock opened at $130.97 on Friday. Plexus Corp. has a twelve month low of $103.43 and a twelve month high of $172.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.64 and its 200-day moving average is $130.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.19. Plexus had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 4.04%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plexus Company Profile

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.