Amphenol Corporation $APH Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services increased its Amphenol stake 177.1% in the third quarter, adding 253,821 shares to reach 397,157 shares valued at about $33.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.01% of the stock.
• Amphenol beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.80 and revenue of $10.23 billion; revenue rose 65.1% year over year. Analysts’ average rating is “Buy,” with an average price target of $108.32.
• The company authorized a $4 billion share-buyback program but reduced its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share. CEO Richard Norwitt also sold 799,576 shares.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 177.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,157 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 253,821 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $33,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vaquero Private Wealth Ltd. bought a new position in Amphenol in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 85.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 198 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 81.9% during the second quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 211 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 57.4% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 233 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 54.5% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 241 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Amphenol from $197.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Amphenol in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Amphenol from $190.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Amphenol currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $108.32.

Amphenol Stock Performance

APH opened at $74.67 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $184.39 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.01 and a 1 year high of $89.93.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $9.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Amphenol's quarterly revenue was up 65.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a negative change from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.74%.

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

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In other news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total transaction of $65,949,028.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,855,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $317,961,554.72. The trade was a 17.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.

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