Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $722.38 Million Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,401,483 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 1,326,522 shares during the quarter. Amphenol accounts for 1.1% of Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.86% of Amphenol worth $722,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 23,532 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 787 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 3,824 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of APH stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.89. 7,689,932 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,529,053. Amphenol Co. has a 1-year low of $54.77 and a 1-year high of $86.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $105.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.40.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.04%.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, insider William J. Doherty sold 126,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $10,115,280.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 2,000,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.73, for a total value of $151,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,002,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,649,855.11. The trade was a 49.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,178,500 shares of company stock worth $241,903,805 over the last ninety days. 1.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APH. 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. Fox Advisors raised Amphenol from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup upped 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. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 price target on Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.