Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 161.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,821 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 22,744 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Amphenol were worth $2,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APH. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Amphenol in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,847,000. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 17,160 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 4,631 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 151,867 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $10,547,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,094 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities upped their price target on Amphenol from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.31.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of Amphenol stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.95. 7,701,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,484,168. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.12. Amphenol Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.77 and a fifty-two week high of $94.14.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.04%.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In other news, VP Lance E. D'amico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $13,349,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 51,400 shares in the company, valued at $3,920,792. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Luc Walter sold 390,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $29,604,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 447,790 shares in the company, valued at $33,991,738.90. The trade was a 46.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,764,500 shares of company stock worth $294,839,785. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Amphenol

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.