D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 17,996 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,874 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,996 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Plexus were worth $20,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Plexus by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,907 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Plexus by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total transaction of $173,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,879.12. This represents a 49.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Randy J. Martinez sold 887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.52, for a total transaction of $124,641.24. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,852.12. The trade was a 15.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,137 shares of company stock valued at $577,916 in the last ninety days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLXS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark cut their price target on Plexus from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 target price (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price target on Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.67.

Plexus Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PLXS stock opened at $126.14 on Monday. Plexus Corp. has a 52-week low of $100.96 and a 52-week high of $172.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.12. Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Plexus’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.