Axa S.A. Buys 273,783 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 114.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 512,300 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 273,783 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Amphenol were worth $35,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of APH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth about $1,378,794,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Amphenol by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,911,813 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $4,091,426,000 after purchasing an additional 15,837,407 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Amphenol by 619.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,014,111 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $487,130,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039,845 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Amphenol by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 104,250,575 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $7,240,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,752 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth $157,749,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of APH stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $79.79. 6,052,769 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,476,668. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Amphenol Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.00.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.11. The firm 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%. The business'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 EPS. Analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, insider William J. Doherty sold 126,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $10,115,280.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,000,375. This trade represents a 87.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,178,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,903,805. 1.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APH. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 target price on Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.