Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 647,207 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,552 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.39% of Plexus worth $101,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,489,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Plexus by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,017 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,128,000 after buying an additional 228,027 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Plexus by 146.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,824 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,501,000 after buying an additional 154,003 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Plexus by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 138,367 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,652,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Plexus by 1,875.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 137,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,511,000 after buying an additional 130,506 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

Plexus Trading Up 12.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $124.45 on Thursday. Plexus Corp. has a 52 week low of $92.72 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 0.83.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Equities analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.96, for a total value of $205,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,906,206.72. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $496,814.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,281,775.14. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,958 shares of company stock worth $2,551,930. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Company 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.