Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 159,659 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,944,347 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,659 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Benchmark Electronics worth $86,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 686 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter worth $41,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 81.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 125.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BHE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

NYSE:BHE opened at $47.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.50. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.75 and a 52 week high of $52.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,617.18. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,794,552.90. This represents a 14.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,073 shares of company stock worth $1,685,497 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.