Sandy Spring Bank Boosts Stake in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV)

Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,720 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Aptiv were worth $1,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Aptiv by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 154,944 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $13,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41,135 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 378,655 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,973,000 after purchasing an additional 65,354 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in Aptiv by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 67,036 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,609,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Zenyatta Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Aptiv by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 50,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,486,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Aptiv by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,302,280 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $325,572,000 after buying an additional 187,046 shares in the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aptiv

In related news, SVP Benjamin Lyon sold 18,680 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.69, for a total transaction of $1,451,249.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 95,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,396,942.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APTV. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aptiv from $107.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Aptiv from $115.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $150.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aptiv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.14.

Aptiv Price Performance

APTV traded down $0.57 on Thursday, hitting $74.38. 184,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,710,494. Aptiv PLC has a fifty-two week low of $71.01 and a fifty-two week high of $113.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.93 and its 200 day moving average is $83.54.

Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.11. Aptiv had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aptiv PLC will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

About Aptiv

Aptiv PLC engages in design, manufacture, and sale of vehicle components in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, South America, and internationally. The company provides electrical, electronic, and safety technology solutions to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. It operates through two segments, Signal and Power Solutions, and Advanced Safety and User Experience.