LPL Financial LLC Buys 5,363 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 170.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,508 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Plexus were worth $1,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $294,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $1,518,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,875 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,831,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,017 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,128,000 after purchasing an additional 228,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total transaction of $173,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,276 shares in the company, valued at $176,879.12. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.96, for a total value of $205,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,906,206.72. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,958 shares of company stock worth $2,551,930. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Plexus in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.00.

Plexus Trading Up 4.6 %

Plexus stock traded up $5.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.84. The stock had a trading volume of 19,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,041. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 0.83. Plexus Corp. has a 12 month low of $94.29 and a 12 month high of $172.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Plexus Profile

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors.