Advisors Preferred LLC Takes $1.72 Million Position in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,000 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,718,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APH. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 29.4% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,847,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 46.8% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 69,958 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 22,293 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 14.4% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,504 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 4.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,920 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $4,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,514 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Up 0.5%

Amphenol stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.96. 7,303,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,704,418. The company's fifty day moving average price is $95.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.41. The company has a market cap of $126.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Amphenol Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.77 and a fifty-two week high of $108.85.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Amphenol's revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Amphenol's payout ratio is currently 26.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Fox Advisors upgraded Amphenol from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Amphenol in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Amphenol from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David M. Silverman sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.09, for a total transaction of $8,909,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,625. This represents a 88.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 160,000 shares of the company's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 799,500 shares of company stock valued at $70,053,885 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

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.