Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 63,943 Shares of Benchmark Electronics, Inc. $BHE

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) by 1,230.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,139 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,943 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Benchmark Electronics were worth $3,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BHE. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Benchmark Electronics during the fourth quarter worth $74,940,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Benchmark Electronics by 14.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,688,298 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $103,634,000 after purchasing an additional 338,081 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Benchmark Electronics by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,651 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,019,000 after buying an additional 213,276 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Benchmark Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at $8,312,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Benchmark Electronics by 56.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 341,457 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,163,000 after buying an additional 123,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.00.

Benchmark Electronics Price Performance

NYSE:BHE opened at $79.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.23 and a beta of 1.24. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.44 and a 12-month high of $100.41.

Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $755.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $720.00 million. Benchmark Electronics had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 1.89%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Benchmark Electronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.820 EPS.

Benchmark Electronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Benchmark Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Benchmark Electronics

In other Benchmark Electronics news, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 6,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.14, for a total value of $561,924.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,067 shares in the company, valued at $3,070,744.38. The trade was a 15.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth T. Lamneck sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.49, for a total transaction of $1,977,191.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,418 shares in the company, valued at $3,864,092.82. The trade was a 33.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,352 shares of company stock worth $7,312,806. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc is a global provider of comprehensive electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and integrated engineering solutions. The company offers a full suite of services that span the entire product lifecycle, from early‐stage design and prototyping to high‐volume production and aftermarket support. Benchmark serves diverse end markets, including industrial automation, medical devices, communications, aerospace and defense, and semiconductor equipment.

At the core of Benchmark’s offering are printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), system integration, box build assemblies and turnkey manufacturing.