Boston Partners Cuts Holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Boston Partners reduced its position in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,271 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,859 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $3,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $145,405,000 after purchasing an additional 159,716 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,996,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,815,000 after purchasing an additional 21,170 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,351,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,986,000 after purchasing an additional 42,570 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 902,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,944,000 after purchasing an additional 243,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 892,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,658,000 after purchasing an additional 30,941 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Benchmark Electronics news, CFO Arvind Kamal sold 783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.38, for a total value of $30,051.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $795,809.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Arvind Kamal sold 783 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.38, for a total transaction of $30,051.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $795,809.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.49, for a total transaction of $394,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,779,498.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,560 shares of company stock valued at $688,374 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of BHE stock traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.48. 351,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 2.35. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a one year low of $22.66 and a one year high of $48.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 0.99.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The business had revenue of $666.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BHE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sidoti downgraded Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Fox Advisors downgraded Benchmark Electronics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.33.

Benchmark Electronics 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.