Insider Selling: Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) CEO Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total value of $232,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 448,180 shares in the company, valued at $17,398,347.60. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Jeff Benck also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, January 13th, Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.31, for a total transaction of $271,860.00.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

BHE stock opened at $39.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.70 and its 200 day moving average is $44.44. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.44 and a 52 week high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 2.38%.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BHE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 3.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 184,332 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,561 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,329 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 46,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 55.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 14,020 shares during the period. 92.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Company 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.