KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,700 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,518,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Plexus by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 664 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $755,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 421,903 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,678,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Plexus by 65.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 35,569 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Plexus by 41.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Plexus in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Plexus Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ PLXS opened at $127.76 on Friday. Plexus Corp. has a 12 month low of $92.72 and a 12 month high of $172.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.71.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.36%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Plexus news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.96, for a total transaction of $205,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,906,206.72. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total transaction of $173,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,879.12. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,458 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,515 in the last ninety days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.