Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes $70.42 Million Position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,784,688 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $70,424,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 4.95% of Benchmark Electronics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 0.4% in the 2nd 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. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 17.1% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 27,692 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,269,000 after purchasing an additional 392,699 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 38,215 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Benchmark Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 92.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Benchmark Electronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.33.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total transaction of $302,017.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,552.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 1.2 %

Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $43.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.66 and a twelve month high of $48.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 0.98.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $666.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. Benchmark Electronics's revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. This is a positive change from Benchmark Electronics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Benchmark Electronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.16%.

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.