Centiva Capital LP Lowers Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Centiva Capital LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,161 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 64,020 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Amphenol were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tacita Capital Inc increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 328.9% during the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 386 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Amphenol during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 703.8% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 418 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amphenol news, insider William J. Doherty sold 126,000 shares of the company's 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Lance E. D'amico sold 175,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $13,349,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 51,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,920,792. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,178,500 shares of company stock worth $241,903,805. 1.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amphenol Trading Up 2.3%

Amphenol stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.44. 2,625,844 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,499,064. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.94. Amphenol Co. has a 52-week low of $54.77 and a 52-week high of $86.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. Amphenol's revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Amphenol's payout ratio is 32.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on APH. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Amphenol from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.