Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 284,314 Shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,883,159 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 284,314 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Amphenol worth $189,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APH. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 7,324 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Amphenol by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,052 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its holdings in Amphenol by 6.8% during the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in Amphenol by 2.8% during the first quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 7,750 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Amphenol by 10.5% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, insider Luc Walter sold 286,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $26,148,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 451,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,307,159.70. This represents a 38.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David M. Silverman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.09, for a total value of $8,909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,625. The trade was a 88.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,764,500 shares of company stock worth $294,839,785 over the last three months. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APH traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.36. 3,180,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,643,084. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.23, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.99. Amphenol Corporation has a one year low of $54.77 and a one year high of $99.71.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 27.68% and a net margin of 15.58%. The company's revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APH has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Amphenol from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. US Capital Advisors set a $85.00 price target on Amphenol in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Fox Advisors raised Amphenol from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphenol currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

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.