Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Position in Plexus Corp. $PLXS

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 23.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 240,192 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 45,425 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Plexus were worth $34,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Plexus by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,059,501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $143,361,000 after acquiring an additional 24,115 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 12.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 765,773 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $103,617,000 after purchasing an additional 87,551 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Plexus by 37.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 242,726 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,843,000 after purchasing an additional 65,644 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 240,635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,560,000 after purchasing an additional 4,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 9.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 230,822 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,233,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other Plexus news, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 2,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.18, for a total value of $333,179.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 18,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,640,525.56. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.53, for a total transaction of $287,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,961 shares in the company, valued at $2,434,412.33. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,672 shares of company stock worth $1,668,190. Company insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Price Performance

NASDAQ PLXS opened at $181.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $154.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.58. Plexus Corp. has a 52-week low of $103.43 and a 52-week high of $186.47.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Plexus had a return on equity of 12.77% and a net margin of 4.29%.Plexus’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PLXS shares. Sidoti lowered shares of Plexus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Plexus from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Plexus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plexus presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.00.

About Plexus

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and precision engineered electronics solutions. Headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, the company partners with original equipment manufacturers across industries such as medical, industrial, aerospace and defense, computing, and communications. Plexus offers a full suite of services that span new product introduction, product lifecycle management, supply chain management, printed circuit board assembly, system integration, and aftermarket support.

Founded in 1979, Plexus has grown from a regional electronics assembler into a multinational organization with manufacturing and engineering centers across North America, Europe, and Asia.