Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Cuts Stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,710 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $5,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APH shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Amphenol from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Amphenol from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amphenol Price Performance

NYSE APH traded up $0.21 on Thursday, reaching $116.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 660,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,291. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $70.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.30. Amphenol Co. has a 52 week low of $72.00 and a 52 week high of $119.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $111.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.30.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.30%.

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 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the electronics maker to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol 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.