Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Position

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama doubled its Amphenol stake in the third quarter, increasing its position 100.1% to 517,133 shares valued at about $43.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.01% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view: Amphenol has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $108.32.
• Amphenol’s latest quarterly results beat estimates, with earnings of $0.80 per share and revenue up 65.1% year over year. The company also authorized a $4 billion share buyback, while cutting its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share.

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 100.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 517,133 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 258,689 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Amphenol were worth $43,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Amphenol by 111.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 29,268 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 15,394 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Excel Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Amphenol during the 2nd quarter worth $1,927,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd grew its holdings in Amphenol by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 45,599 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,761,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth $5,637,000. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Amphenol by 1,118.7% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 39,681 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,014,000 after purchasing an additional 36,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Amphenol from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price target on Amphenol in a research note on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amphenol in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Amphenol from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $108.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of the 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 owned 3,855,014 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Amphenol stock opened at $79.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $197.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.57. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.01 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.49 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 42.53%. The firm's revenue was up 65.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a drop from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Amphenol's payout ratio is currently 26.09%.

Amphenol declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the electronics maker to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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