Corton Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Corton Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Amphenol comprises 0.3% of Corton Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Corton Capital Inc.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Amphenol by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 152,127,847 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,565,279,000 after buying an additional 2,108,578 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Amphenol by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 104,250,575 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,240,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,752 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Amphenol by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,911,813 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,091,426,000 after purchasing an additional 15,837,407 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Amphenol by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,325,653 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,754,672,000 after purchasing an additional 659,560 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 294.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,953,591 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,733,027,000 after purchasing an additional 18,619,417 shares in the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In related news, insider Luc Walter sold 390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $29,604,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 447,790 shares in the company, valued at $33,991,738.90. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total transaction of $30,372,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,593,000. This represents a 80.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,965,000 shares of company stock worth $224,785,900. 1.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their price target on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 target price on Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Fox Advisors upgraded Amphenol from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amphenol currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Amphenol Stock Down 0.6 %

APH stock opened at $80.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Amphenol Co. has a 1-year low of $54.77 and a 1-year high of $81.00. The firm has a market cap of $97.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.87, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Amphenol’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

Amphenol Company 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.