Royce & Associates LP Has $4.66 Million Stake in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,060 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 142,428 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $4,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 686 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 81.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Benchmark Electronics by 172.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 125.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Benchmark Electronics Stock Down 0.4 %

Benchmark Electronics stock opened at $46.85 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $44.64 and its 200-day moving average is $42.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 0.97. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.75 and a fifty-two week high of $52.57.

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

Benchmark Electronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Benchmark Electronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHE has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Benchmark Electronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Lake Street Capital raised 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Benchmark Electronics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Benchmark Electronics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Benchmark Electronics news, Director Jeffrey Stephen Mccreary sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.70, for a total transaction of $302,017.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,027 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,552.90. This trade represents a 14.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeff Benck sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $1,101,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 424,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

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.