Empower Advisory Group LLC Takes $203,000 Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired 1,439 shares of TE Connectivity Ltd., valued at approximately $203,000, during the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• TE Connectivity has recently been upgraded by several analysts, with price targets raised significantly; UBS and JPMorgan increased their targets to $201.00 and $204.00 respectively, reflecting optimism about the company's performance.
• Insiders have sold a total of 220,626 shares of TE Connectivity stock worth over $39 million in the last three months, alongside significant sales by CFO Heath A. Mitts and insider Aaron Kyle Stucki.

Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,439 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TEL. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of TE Connectivity during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in TE Connectivity in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in TE Connectivity during the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 650.8% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 488 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TEL traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $202.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,435,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,235. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.92. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a one year low of $116.30 and a one year high of $212.76. The company has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.23.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electronics maker reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 20.22%. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

TE Connectivity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. TE Connectivity's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TE Connectivity

In other TE Connectivity news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $3,975,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,130,963.28. This represents a 49.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Malavika Sagar sold 1,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.20, for a total transaction of $403,004.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $977,155.20. This trade represents a 29.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 220,626 shares of company stock worth $39,510,585 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TEL. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $156.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $170.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of TE Connectivity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TE Connectivity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.80.

About TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.