TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $168.16 and last traded at $167.47, with a volume of 166288 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $166.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TEL. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TE Connectivity from $147.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of TE Connectivity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.50.

TE Connectivity Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $155.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.68.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.14. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

TE Connectivity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. TE Connectivity's payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Activity

In other TE Connectivity news, EVP John S. Jenkins sold 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.85, for a total transaction of $3,322,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,625 shares in the company, valued at $4,010,181.25. This represents a 45.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Heath A. Mitts sold 37,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.33, for a total transaction of $5,802,620.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,976,974.99. The trade was a 45.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 174,675 shares of company stock worth $27,369,059. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of TE Connectivity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TEL. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 73,868 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $10,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,076 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in TE Connectivity in the first quarter worth $104,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity during the first quarter valued at $310,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the first quarter worth $16,252,000. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership bought a new position in shares of TE Connectivity in the 1st quarter worth about $31,983,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.43% of the company's stock.

TE Connectivity Company Profile

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.