Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 11,738 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,897,568 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,738 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 5.27% of Benchmark Electronics worth $84,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BHE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,012,717 shares of the technology company's stock worth $118,881,000 after acquiring an additional 12,112 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,944,347 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,173,000 after purchasing an additional 159,659 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 841,602 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,307,000 after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 820,493 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,364,000 after buying an additional 133,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.3% in the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 646,142 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,497,000 after buying an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

BHE stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.51. 225,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.37. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. The business 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%. Benchmark Electronics's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics's payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Transactions at Benchmark Electronics

In other news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,254,617.18. This trade 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 this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BHE shares. 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 cut shares of Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Company 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.