Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires 52,323 Shares of Amphenol Corporation $APH

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Amphenol stake by 68.4% in the third quarter, adding 52,323 shares to hold 128,780 shares valued at about $10.9 million.
• Amphenol beat quarterly estimates, reporting earnings of $0.80 per share versus $0.73 expected and revenue of $10.23 billion, up 65.1% year over year. Analysts’ average rating was “Buy,” with an average price target of $108.32.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share, while authorizing a $4 billion share repurchase plan.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 68.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,780 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 52,323 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Amphenol were worth $10,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APH. Pacific Excel Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,927,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 45,599 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,761,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 193,939 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $24,504,000 after acquiring an additional 43,945 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,637,000. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Amphenol by 1,118.7% during the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 39,681 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,014,000 after purchasing an additional 36,425 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $100.00 target price on Amphenol in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Amphenol from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Amphenol in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $108.32.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APH opened at $74.67 on Friday. Amphenol Corporation has a one year low of $59.01 and a one year high of $89.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a return on equity of 42.53% and a net margin of 17.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 65.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a drop from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

Amphenol announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total transaction of $65,949,028.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amphenol 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.