Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Amphenol has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, amidst mixed sentiments from other analysts who have varied target prices for the stock.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $0.81 and a revenue of $5.65 billion, marking a 56.5% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• Insider trading activity revealed significant stock sales by Vice Presidents, with a total of 586,000 shares sold in the last three months, amounting to approximately $52.9 million.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Amphenol from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amphenol from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 target price on Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KGI Securities assumed coverage on Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $115.00 target price on Amphenol in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.92.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of APH stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.83. 4,858,996 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,268,698. The stock's 50-day moving average is $99.46 and its 200-day moving average is $81.21. The stock has a market cap of $134.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.13. Amphenol has a 52 week low of $56.45 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.15. Amphenol had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 16.90%. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Amphenol will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is 26.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 160,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $14,326,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Luc Walter sold 286,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $26,148,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 451,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,307,159.70. This trade represents a 38.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 586,000 shares of company stock worth $52,935,980 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Avalon Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 406 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amphenol

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.