Norges Bank Takes $5.30 Million Position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 116,783 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,302,000. Norges Bank owned 0.32% of Benchmark Electronics as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Benchmark Electronics during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,151 shares of the technology company's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Benchmark Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the technology company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 6,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $232,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 448,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,398,347.60. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BHE shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Benchmark Electronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Up 0.4 %

BHE stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.79. 17,719 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,587. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a one year low of $29.09 and a one year high of $52.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.83.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 2.38%.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Benchmark Electronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.