Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 254,495 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,689,852 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 254,495 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 4.69% of Benchmark Electronics worth $76,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 55.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 14,020 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,126 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 25,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 841,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,307,000 after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 428.1% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 32,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 26,660 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 128.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 48,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Benchmark Electronics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $47.01 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 1.00. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.41 and a 12-month high of $52.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.70.

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

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.53%.

Insider Activity at Benchmark Electronics

In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares in the company, valued at $19,469,540.70. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.98, for a total transaction of $281,880.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,617.18. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,655,340 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Benchmark Electronics

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.