Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 4,190 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,035 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,190 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Benchmark Electronics by 2.2% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 4.0% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,655,340 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BHE stock opened at $48.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.41 and a 12 month high of $52.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.55.

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

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is currently 39.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.