Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. $TEL

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel increased its TE Connectivity stake by 76.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 12,500 shares worth about $2.84 million.
• Institutional interest in TE Connectivity remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 91.43% of the stock. Several firms also reported sizable stake increases during recent quarters.
• TE Connectivity recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, raised its dividend to $0.78 per share, and authorized a $3 billion share buyback, signaling confidence in its financial position.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL - Free Report) by 76.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in TE Connectivity by 26,798.6% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,383,932 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $303,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,787 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in TE Connectivity by 27.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,274,917 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,058,390,000 after buying an additional 1,352,152 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 183.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,530,414 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $348,184,000 after buying an additional 990,703 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in TE Connectivity by 243.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,359,191 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $298,383,000 after purchasing an additional 963,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,626,754 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $576,384,000 after purchasing an additional 807,702 shares in the last quarter. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $214.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $244.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on TE Connectivity from $302.00 to $297.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut TE Connectivity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of TE Connectivity from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 9,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.82, for a total value of $2,197,908.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,608,736.62. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Reuben M. Shaffer sold 1,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total value of $333,777.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 45,590 shares of company stock worth $10,276,864 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TE Connectivity Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of TEL opened at $213.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day moving average is $212.72 and its 200 day moving average is $225.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.89. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $155.37 and a fifty-two week high of $252.56.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The electronics maker reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 23.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. TE Connectivity has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.830-2.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from TE Connectivity's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. TE Connectivity's payout ratio is presently 29.01%.

TE Connectivity declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the electronics maker to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TE Connectivity Company Profile

TE Connectivity NYSE: TEL is a global industrial technology company that designs and manufactures connectivity and sensor solutions used to enable the flow of power and data in a wide range of applications. Its product portfolio includes electrical connectors, cable and wire harness assemblies, sensors, relays and switches, fiber-optic and coaxial interconnects, and other passive and active components that provide mechanical and electrical connections in complex systems.

The company's products and engineered solutions serve diverse end markets such as automotive and transportation, industrial equipment, data communications and networks, aerospace and defense, medical devices, and energy.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TEL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.