Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Stock Holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Amphenol Corporation by 9.4% during the first quarter, holding 294,300 shares valued at approximately $19.3 million after selling 30,600 shares.
• Despite Forsta AP Fonden's decrease, other institutional investors have been increasing their holdings in Amphenol, with FIL Ltd boosting its stake by 3,363.6% in the fourth quarter.
• Amphenol Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share with a yield of 0.6%, reflecting a payout ratio of 26.29%.

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 294,300 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 30,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Amphenol were worth $19,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in Amphenol by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 406 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $115.00 price target on Amphenol in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.92.

Amphenol Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:APH traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $109.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,858,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,268,698. The stock has a market cap of $134.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.13. Amphenol Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.45 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $99.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.99.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 16.90%. The company's revenue was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Amphenol's payout ratio is currently 26.29%.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In related news, VP Michael R. Ivas sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.79, for a total transaction of $3,551,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 152,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,532,661.48. This trade represents a 20.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Luc Walter sold 286,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $26,148,980.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 451,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,307,159.70. The trade was a 38.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 586,000 shares of company stock valued at $52,935,980. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amphenol Company Profile

Amphenol Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, primarily designs, manufactures, and markets electrical, electronic, and fiber optic connectors in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Harsh Environment Solutions, Communications Solutions, and Interconnect and Sensor Systems.