Amalgamated Bank Lowers Stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Amalgamated Bank cut its stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 150,257 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 10,523 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $14,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Amphenol in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,589,000. West Coast Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 128,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after buying an additional 50,778 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,264 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,793,000 after buying an additional 14,843 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,875,000. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,071,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of Amphenol stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $122.65. 3,279,405 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,911,420. Amphenol Co. has a 52-week low of $72.77 and a 52-week high of $123.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.73.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.85% and a net margin of 15.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Amphenol’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Amphenol announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APH shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total transaction of $2,212,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Amphenol news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $1,571,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,075. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total value of $2,212,800.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,251,050 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amphenol Profile

Amphenol Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, primarily designs, manufactures, and markets electrical, electronic, and fiber optic connectors in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Harsh Environment Solutions, Communications Solutions, and Interconnect and Sensor Systems.