Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,306,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 34,255 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $129,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Amphenol by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,057 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amphenol by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,601 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 130,468 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $10,958,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 153,594 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $12,900,000 after acquiring an additional 3,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Amphenol during the third quarter valued at approximately $832,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Performance

NYSE:APH traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $126.61. 2,986,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,911,439. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.25 and a 200 day moving average of $101.89. Amphenol Co. has a twelve month low of $72.77 and a twelve month high of $127.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the electronics maker to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is 26.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total value of $10,467,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at $15,391,200.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Amphenol news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total value of $2,212,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total value of $10,467,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,251,050. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.83.

About Amphenol

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.