Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 523,777 Shares of Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,922,351 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 523,777 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Flex worth $116,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Flex by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after buying an additional 25,662,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Flex by 38.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,259,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $611,997,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377,669 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Flex by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,605,802 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,829,000 after purchasing an additional 181,266 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Flex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,756,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Flex by 118.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,811,248 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $162,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,308 shares in the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FLEX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on shares of Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.70.

Flex News Summary

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

Flex Price Performance

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

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Flex

In related news, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 26,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total transaction of $3,726,534.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 256,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 114,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total transaction of $16,242,993.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 689,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,096,062.14. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 345,012 shares of company stock valued at $48,508,103. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Company 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.