Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Shares Up 8.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Amphenol shares rose 8.4% to about $80.89 in heavy trading, with volume roughly 10% above its average.
• Analysts are broadly bullish: 18 rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, and the average price target is $108.32.
• Quarterly earnings and revenue exceeded estimates, while revenue grew 65.1% year over year. The company also cut its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.15 per share and authorized up to $4 billion in share repurchases.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 8.4% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $81.21 and last traded at $80.8910. Approximately 18,946,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 17,165,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 target price on Amphenol in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Amphenol from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $108.32.

Amphenol Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $199.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $81.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.53.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 42.53%. The business had revenue of $10.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 65.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. This is a negative change from Amphenol's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Amphenol's payout ratio is currently 21.74%.

Amphenol announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 28th that permits the company to buy back $4 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the electronics maker to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $65,949,028.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,855,014 shares in the company, valued at $317,961,554.72. The trade was a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APH. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Amphenol by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,281,059 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $12,107,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,884,641 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 10.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,579,919 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,923,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,248 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in Amphenol by 3,010.0% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 16,437,431 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,898,248,000 after purchasing an additional 15,908,901 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Amphenol by 4.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,703,604 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,710,939,000 after purchasing an additional 416,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Amphenol during the second quarter worth approximately $1,600,531,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amphenol

Amphenol Corporation designs, manufactures and markets electrical, electronic and fiber-optic connectors, interconnect systems, antennas and sensor products. Its offerings also include cable assemblies and related components used to transmit signals and power in electronic equipment and systems.

The company serves customers in a range of markets, including communications and information technology, automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, mobile devices and data networks. Its products are used in applications such as vehicles, communications infrastructure, commercial aircraft and industrial equipment.

Founded in 1932, Amphenol has grown into a global manufacturer serving customers across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

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