Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Trims Stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,600 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. owned about 0.26% of Benchmark Electronics worth $4,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BHE. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 8.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,944,347 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,173,000 after buying an additional 159,659 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 820,493 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,364,000 after purchasing an additional 133,602 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 428,181 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $18,977,000 after purchasing an additional 109,903 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,334,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BHE shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE BHE opened at $37.61 on Tuesday. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.44 and a 1-year high of $52.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.05 and a 200-day moving average of $44.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.31, for a total transaction of $271,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 418,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,947,418.63. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.