FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $229,000 Investment in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,307 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 228.5% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 110,298 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $10,934,000 after purchasing an additional 76,724 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth about $3,589,000. West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 128,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,779,000 after buying an additional 50,778 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 63.4% during 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. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Amphenol stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $123.95. 885,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,887,813. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.27. The firm has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Co. has a twelve month low of $72.77 and a twelve month high of $124.56.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.85% and a net margin of 15.87%. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’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 fiscal year.

Amphenol announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the electronics maker to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at $15,391,200.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total transaction of $10,467,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,075. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,000 shares of company stock worth $14,251,050. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APH. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphenol currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.