Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: AlphaCore Capital LLC Boosts Position

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital increased its Amphenol position by 114.9% in the third quarter, adding 145,309 shares to reach 271,773 shares valued at about $22.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.01% of the stock.
• Amphenol beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.80 versus $0.73 expected and revenue of $10.23 billion versus $9.49 billion; revenue rose 65.1% year over year. The company also authorized up to $4 billion in stock buybacks.
• Analysts hold a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $108.32, while CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares. Amphenol lowered its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.25.

AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 114.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,773 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 145,309 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $22,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in Amphenol by 85.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 198 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 100.0% during the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 300 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 831.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 298 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sunrise Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 100.0% in the third quarter. Sunrise Financial Services LLC now owns 324 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, NFSG Corp acquired a new position in shares of Amphenol in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $65,949,028.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,855,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $317,961,554.72. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amphenol Trading Up 8.4%

APH opened at $80.89 on Tuesday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $59.01 and a one year high of $89.93. The company has a market cap of $199.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $81.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.55.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 42.53%. The company had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 65.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This is a decrease from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research raised Amphenol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.32.

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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