Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.17 Million Holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,332 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,561 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Benchmark Electronics worth $8,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Benchmark Electronics by 2.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 481,062 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,983,000 after purchasing an additional 12,789 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 4,828 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 8.7% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter valued at about $545,000. 92.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Performance

Shares of BHE stock opened at $45.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.76. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $52.57.

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

Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,254,617.18. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $1,101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,469,540.70. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BHE. StockNews.com raised shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.33.

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.