Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Purchases 2,206 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 371,608 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Amphenol makes up approximately 3.1% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $36,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of APH. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,376,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $199,616,000 after purchasing an additional 845,637 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,090,708 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $343,579,000 after purchasing an additional 729,849 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,500,422 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,661,480,000 after purchasing an additional 691,964 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,279,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,283,360,000 after purchasing an additional 653,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,145,093 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,104,056,000 after purchasing an additional 564,110 shares in the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 147,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. 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. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APH traded up $2.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $119.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,254,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,129. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.30. Amphenol Co. has a 12-month low of $72.00 and a 12-month high of $119.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.30.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 15.36%. Amphenol’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.30%.

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