BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 43,862 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,946 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 43,862 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Benchmark Electronics worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 15,244 shares of the technology company's stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 65.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 686 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 2.2% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,115 shares of the technology company's stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 4.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the technology company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.3% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,100 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Down 0.1 %

Benchmark Electronics stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.62. The stock had a trading volume of 201,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,653. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.99. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $52.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.27.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $658.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.32% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics's payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. The trade was a 5.36 % 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 this link. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BHE has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.33.

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.