Shell Asset Management Co. Buys 70,869 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 85.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,332 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 70,869 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Amphenol were worth $10,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Amphenol by 208.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,095 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 18,322 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Amphenol by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 98,432 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 25,007 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its stake in Amphenol by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 17,160 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 4,631 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at $13,847,000. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Amphenol by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 151,867 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other news, VP David M. Silverman sold 87,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.03, for a total transaction of $7,002,625.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,375. This represents a 87.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 126,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $10,115,280.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,178,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,903,805 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APH traded down $0.61 on Monday, hitting $86.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,316,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,526,263. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.44. Amphenol Co. has a 1 year low of $54.77 and a 1 year high of $86.96. The company has a market capitalization of $104.35 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Amphenol's payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APH. Fox Advisors raised Amphenol from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities upped their price target on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Amphenol from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.62.

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.