Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Raises Holdings

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management increased its Amphenol stake by 76.7%, adding about 1.81 million shares to hold 4.17 million shares worth roughly $351 million. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.
• Amphenol reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, beating the $0.73 consensus, and revenue of $10.23 billion, up 65.1% year over year and above estimates.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share, while authorizing a $4 billion share repurchase program.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,167,736 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,809,451 shares during the quarter. Amphenol accounts for approximately 2.6% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Amphenol worth $351,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its stake in Amphenol by 80.2% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 4,075 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 110.4% in the third quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 134,790 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $11,363,000 after buying an additional 70,728 shares during the last quarter. Shah Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amphenol during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $293,000. Vista Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Amphenol in the 3rd quarter valued at $588,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 113.0% during the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 17,035 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Performance

APH traded down $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.15. The stock had a trading volume of 9,580,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,824,595. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.57. The firm has a market cap of $192.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Corporation has a one year low of $59.01 and a one year high of $89.93. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 42.53% and a net margin of 17.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 65.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

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

Amphenol announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $4 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the electronics maker to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $190.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Amphenol from $197.00 to $107.00 in a report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphenol currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $65,949,028.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,855,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $317,961,554.72. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.

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