19,396 Amphenol Corporation $APH Shares Purchased by Leelyn Smith LLC

Key Points

• Leelyn Smith LLC more than doubled its Amphenol stake in the third quarter, buying 19,396 shares to hold 38,290 shares worth about $3.23 million. Several other institutional investors also increased their positions.
• Amphenol beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.80 per share and revenue of $10.23 billion, up 65.1% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Buy,” with a $108.32 average price target.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share and authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase plan, allowing buybacks of up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its stake in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 102.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,290 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 19,396 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $3,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol in the 3rd quarter valued at $538,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 76,888 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $6,482,000 after buying an additional 38,469 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Amphenol by 97.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Amphenol by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 51,634 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $4,353,000 after acquiring an additional 26,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $100.00 price target on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on Amphenol in a report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on Amphenol in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.32.

Amphenol Stock Up 4.2%

APH stock opened at $74.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.53. Amphenol Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.01 and a 12 month high of $89.93. The company has a market cap of $184.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 42.53%. The company had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Amphenol's quarterly revenue was up 65.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a decrease from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is 26.09%.

Amphenol declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buy back $4 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $65,949,028.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,855,014 shares in the company, valued at $317,961,554.72. The trade was a 17.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amphenol Company Profile

Amphenol Corporation designs, manufactures and markets electrical, electronic and fiber-optic connectors, interconnect systems, antennas and sensor products. Its offerings also include cable assemblies and related components used to transmit signals and power in electronic equipment and systems.

The company serves customers in a range of markets, including communications and information technology, automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, mobile devices and data networks. Its products are used in applications such as vehicles, communications infrastructure, commercial aircraft and industrial equipment.

Founded in 1932, Amphenol has grown into a global manufacturer serving customers across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding APH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.