Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,498,871 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,740 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of TE Connectivity worth $357,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 101,640 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $14,531,000 after purchasing an additional 9,175 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc acquired a new stake in TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,739,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in TE Connectivity by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 129,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $18,509,000 after acquiring an additional 31,991 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 119,041 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $17,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,913 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth $149,211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on TEL. Vertical Research upgraded TE Connectivity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $163.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.50.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TEL opened at $150.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.10. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 1-year low of $116.30 and a 1-year high of $159.98. The company has a market capitalization of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.68 and a 200-day moving average of $146.06.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from TE Connectivity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. TE Connectivity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TE Connectivity news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.77, for a total value of $3,669,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,497.52. This represents a 49.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.