First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,429 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APH. Hixon Zuercher LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 21,437 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Jacobsen Capital Management lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 6,113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,421 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,573 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,000 shares of company stock worth $14,251,050 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their target price 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 lifted their price target on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.83.

Amphenol Price Performance

Amphenol stock opened at $122.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Co. has a 12-month low of $72.77 and a 12-month high of $123.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.27.

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

Amphenol announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

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

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.