Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) by 446.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,062 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 236,941 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.08% of Flex worth $18,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FLEX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flex by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,341,053,000 after purchasing an additional 25,662,586 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Flex in the fourth quarter valued at about $319,756,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in Flex during the fourth quarter worth about $2,497,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Flex by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 173,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,469,000 after buying an additional 19,270 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Flex by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 340,389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,566,000 after buying an additional 130,641 shares during the period. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FLEX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Flex in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Flex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Freedom Capital upgraded Flex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Flex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 26,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.48, for a total transaction of $3,851,403.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 257,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,207,500.96. This trade represents a 9.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 33,000 shares of Flex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.91, for a total value of $5,079,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,307,921.61. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock worth $110,116,823. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FLEX opened at $127.39 on Wednesday. Flex Ltd. has a 12-month low of $47.83 and a 12-month high of $166.86. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 54.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.90.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Flex Ltd. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.