Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 279,061 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $19,381,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APH. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at about $450,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,061 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 136.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,077 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 8,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 7,470 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APH has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 price target on Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.62.

Amphenol Stock Performance

NYSE:APH traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.64. The stock had a trading volume of 4,476,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,496,367. Amphenol Co. has a twelve month low of $54.77 and a twelve month high of $87.22. The stock has a market cap of $103.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.72, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.37.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The business 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 business posted $0.40 EPS. Amphenol's revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In related news, insider Luc Walter sold 390,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $29,604,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 447,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,991,738.90. This trade represents a 46.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $13,349,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 51,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,178,500 shares of company stock worth $241,903,805 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Amphenol 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.