Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Buys Shares of 67,041 Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 67,041 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,397,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APH. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its stake in Amphenol by 328.9% during the fourth quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 386 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Amphenol during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Amphenol by 703.8% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 418 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on APH shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Amphenol from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.31.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In other news, insider Luc Walter sold 286,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $26,148,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 451,790 shares in the company, valued at $41,307,159.70. This represents a 38.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael R. Ivas sold 40,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.79, for a total value of $3,551,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 152,412 shares in the company, valued at $13,532,661.48. This represents a 20.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,764,500 shares of company stock valued at $294,839,785. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

APH traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.47. The stock had a trading volume of 8,686,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,479,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.29, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $54.77 and a twelve month high of $93.71. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.93.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.11. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

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.