Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stock Holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,811 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Plexus were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PLXS. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 2.8% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,168,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,457,000 after buying an additional 59,465 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,489,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 653,759 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $85,128,000 after purchasing an additional 228,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Plexus by 146.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,824 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,501,000 after purchasing an additional 154,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other Plexus news, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total value of $173,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,879.12. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Randy J. Martinez sold 887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.52, for a total transaction of $124,641.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,831 shares in the company, valued at $678,852.12. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,958 shares of company stock worth $2,551,930. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $110.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74 and a beta of 0.83. Plexus Corp. has a 12 month low of $92.72 and a 12 month high of $172.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.66 and its 200 day moving average is $145.39.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. Research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PLXS. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

About Plexus

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.