Insider Selling: Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) CEO Sells 24,000 Shares of Stock

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,469,540.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Benchmark Electronics Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Benchmark Electronics stock traded up $0.78 on Thursday, hitting $52.19. 106,795 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,656. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a one year low of $23.62 and a one year high of $52.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BHE shares. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHE. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter worth approximately $70,424,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 176.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,269,000 after acquiring an additional 392,699 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 85.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,176 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,606,000 after acquiring an additional 206,114 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,845,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $145,405,000 after acquiring an additional 159,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the first quarter worth approximately $2,883,000. Institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

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.