Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: M&G PLC Grows Position

Key Points

• M&G PLC increased its Amphenol stake by 151.8% in the third quarter, to 870,307 shares valued at about $73.1 million; institutional investors overall own 97.01% of the stock.
• Amphenol reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, beating the $0.73 consensus, while revenue of $10.23 billion topped estimates and rose 65.1% year over year.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.25 and authorized up to $4 billion in share repurchases. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Buy,” with a $108.32 average price target.

M&G PLC boosted its stake in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 151.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 870,307 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 524,646 shares during the period. M&G PLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $73,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Amphenol by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,281,059 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $12,107,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,884,641 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Amphenol by 10.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,579,919 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,923,371,000 after buying an additional 1,578,248 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Amphenol by 3,010.0% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 16,437,431 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,898,248,000 after buying an additional 15,908,901 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Amphenol by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,703,604 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,710,939,000 after acquiring an additional 416,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Amphenol during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,600,531,000. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Price Performance

APH stock opened at $80.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.55. Amphenol Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.01 and a 52-week high of $89.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.27. 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 65.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. This is a drop from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is 21.74%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APH shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Amphenol from $197.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Amphenol from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on Amphenol in a research report on Monday, October 26th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $175.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.32.

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 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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amphenol Company 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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