Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) Stake Raised by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 91.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,319 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,864 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $5,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Amphenol by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Amphenol by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE APH traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.00. 2,015,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,730,113. The company’s fifty day moving average is $110.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.26. Amphenol Co. has a fifty-two week low of $72.00 and a fifty-two week high of $119.59. The stock has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Amphenol’s payout ratio is 28.30%.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total transaction of $17,595,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total value of $10,467,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050 in the last 90 days. 2.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Amphenol from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Amphenol from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amphenol has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.75.

Amphenol Company 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.