Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,174 Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,174 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APH. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,500,422 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,661,480,000 after buying an additional 691,964 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Amphenol by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,279,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,283,360,000 after purchasing an additional 653,354 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Amphenol by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,145,093 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,104,056,000 after purchasing an additional 564,110 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 7,908,317 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $664,220,000 after purchasing an additional 151,058 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,195,739 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $520,380,000 after purchasing an additional 351,353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Amphenol news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total value of $1,571,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,692,075. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total value of $2,212,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,075. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,251,050 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of APH stock opened at $124.79 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $74.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Co. has a one year low of $72.77 and a one year high of $124.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $113.91 and its 200 day moving average is $101.58.

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

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

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.