Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 45.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,476 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,568 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,424,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,269,000 after buying an additional 392,699 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,176 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,606,000 after buying an additional 206,114 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $145,405,000 after acquiring an additional 159,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,334,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total value of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,254,617.18. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:BHE opened at $48.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 0.97. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.75 and a 52-week high of $52.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.32% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Benchmark Electronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.53%.

Benchmark Electronics Profile

Benchmark Electronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services.