Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stake

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth increased its Amphenol stake by 110.8% in the third quarter, adding 20,603 shares and ending the period with 39,201 shares valued at about $3.3 million.
• Amphenol beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.80 versus $0.73 forecast and revenue of $10.23 billion versus $9.49 billion. The company also authorized up to $4 billion in share repurchases.
• CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares for about $65.9 million, reducing his ownership by 17.18%; separately, Amphenol cut its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 110.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,201 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 20,603 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Purus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 27.2% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 3.8% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,980 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its position in shares of Amphenol by 0.5% in the second quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 14,211 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,506,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Amphenol by 1.3% in the second quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,855,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $317,961,554.72. The trade was a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Amphenol stock opened at $74.67 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $81.29 and its 200 day moving average is $75.53. Amphenol Corporation has a one year low of $59.01 and a one year high of $89.93. The firm has a market cap 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Amphenol from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Amphenol in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Amphenol from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Amphenol in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $108.32.

About Amphenol

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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