Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,922,351 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 523,777 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Flex were worth $116,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Flex by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 177,287 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,712,000 after purchasing an additional 17,193 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in Flex by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 9,961 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Flex during the fourth quarter valued at $6,151,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Flex by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 205,893 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,440,000 after acquiring an additional 60,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its position in Flex by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.30% of the company’s stock.

Flex Trading Down 5.2%

NASDAQ FLEX opened at $139.49 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a PE ratio of 59.87, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.64. Flex Ltd. has a 12 month low of $42.83 and a 12 month high of $166.86.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Flex

In other news, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 26,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total value of $3,726,534.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 256,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,452,841.91. This represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP David Scott Offer sold 33,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.91, for a total transaction of $5,079,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,307,921.61. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 345,012 shares of company stock valued at $48,508,103. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

More Flex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Flex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Flex announced it will join the S&P 500, a milestone that validates the company’s transformation and could bring incremental index-fund buying. Flex to Join S&P 500 Index
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lifted its price target on Flex to $203 from $174, citing strength in AI-related and other business segments, which reinforces a bullish fundamental view. Barclays Lifts PT on Flex Ltd. (FLEX), Cites AI and Business Segments
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary continues to frame FLEX as an emerging AI infrastructure play, which may support a higher valuation over time but does not immediately change near-term fundamentals. Flex To Enter S&P 500 Positioned As A Major AI Infrastructure Player
• Negative Sentiment: The stock is also seeing some profit-taking after a strong run, and investors appear cautious about Flex’s new $1.45 billion term-loan financing and near-term leverage/capex needs. Flex slides 5.3% as investors digest fresh debt financing and take profits after a strong run

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FLEX. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Flex in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Profile

Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX), formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.