Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Cuts Holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. has reduced its stake in Amphenol Corporation by 4.4%, now holding 986,446 shares valued at approximately $64.7 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Amphenol shares, with ratings indicating a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $102.23.
• Amphenol recently reported a 56.5% year-over-year revenue growth of $5.65 billion and earnings per share of $0.81, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 986,446 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 45,930 shares during the period. Amphenol accounts for 1.6% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.08% of Amphenol worth $64,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Amphenol by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 104,250,575 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,240,202,000 after buying an additional 2,643,752 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Amphenol by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,911,813 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $4,091,426,000 after purchasing an additional 15,837,407 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Amphenol by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,325,653 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,754,672,000 after purchasing an additional 659,560 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Amphenol by 294.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,953,591 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,733,027,000 after purchasing an additional 18,619,417 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Amphenol by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,065,802 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $907,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:APH traded up $2.37 on Thursday, hitting $107.86. 9,619,487 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,529,699. The company has a market capitalization of $131.68 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.02. Amphenol Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.77 and a 1-year high of $108.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day moving average is $79.12.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.01 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 16.90%. The business's revenue was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on APH. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Amphenol from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 price objective on Amphenol in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $102.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.23.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, VP David M. Silverman sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.09, for a total transaction of $8,909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,625. This represents a 88.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael R. Ivas sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.79, for a total value of $3,551,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 152,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,532,661.48. This represents a 20.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 799,500 shares of company stock valued at $70,053,885 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

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.