Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,922 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,519 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Plexus worth $18,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in shares of Plexus by 2.8% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,168,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,457,000 after purchasing an additional 59,465 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Plexus by 3.0% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 788,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,326,000 after buying an additional 23,074 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Plexus by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 653,759 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,392,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 7.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 453,308 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,772,000 after acquiring an additional 31,099 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $161.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.98. Plexus Corp. has a 52 week low of $90.18 and a 52 week high of $170.07. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Plexus had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 2.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Plexus news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total transaction of $722,090.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,284.26. The trade was a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.90, for a total value of $497,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,869.50. This represents a 34.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,591 shares of company stock worth $5,143,375 in the last 90 days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Plexus from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Plexus in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.25.

Plexus 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.