Lyell Wealth Management LP Sells 5,387 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Lyell Wealth Management LP reduced its stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,650 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,387 shares during the quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $7,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APH. Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 21,437 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 6,113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,421 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Amphenol by 3.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on APH shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Amphenol in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Amphenol from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.75.

Amphenol Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:APH traded up $2.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,624,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,853,614. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Amphenol Co. has a 12 month low of $72.00 and a 12 month high of $119.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

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

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $2,212,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total transaction of $17,595,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 305,000 shares of company stock valued at $31,846,050. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.