Flex Ltd. $FLEX Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 820,557 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,329 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Flex were worth $53,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLEX. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Flex in the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. Tevis Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Flex during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Flex by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 401,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,250,000 after acquiring an additional 30,326 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flex in the 1st quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flex in the 1st quarter worth $256,000. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flex Stock Performance

Shares of FLEX stock opened at $119.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.64. Flex Ltd. has a 1-year low of $47.83 and a 1-year high of $166.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.78.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Flex had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 3.15%.The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 7,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.22, for a total transaction of $1,055,604.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 245,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,713,954.60. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP David Scott Offer sold 6,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $966,796.11. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 91,122 shares in the company, valued at $13,233,648.06. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock valued at $110,116,823 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLEX has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Flex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.70.

Flex Profile

Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX), formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.