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

National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,306,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,255 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Amphenol worth $129,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on APH. UBS Group upped their target price on Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Amphenol from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.83.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $1,571,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,075. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $1,571,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,692,075. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,000 shares of company stock worth $14,251,050. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of Amphenol stock traded up $1.89 on Wednesday, hitting $126.61. 2,986,861 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,911,439. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Amphenol Co. has a 1-year low of $72.77 and a 1-year high of $127.06.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 23.85%. Amphenol’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

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

Amphenol announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the electronics maker to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.