Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 45.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,476 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,568 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Benchmark Electronics worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 686 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 81.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 172.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Benchmark Electronics by 125.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BHE. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BHE opened at $48.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 0.97. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.75 and a 12-month high of $52.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.32% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The business had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Benchmark Electronics’s payout ratio is currently 39.53%.

Benchmark Electronics Profile

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.