ING Groep NV Sells 604,780 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 303,982 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 604,780 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $21,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 89.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,303,215 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $280,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032,402 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Amphenol during the third quarter valued at approximately $113,828,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,534,216 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,496,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,880 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 151.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,210,672 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $144,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 157.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,932,159 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $125,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE APH opened at $69.37 on Friday. Amphenol Co. has a 12 month low of $52.10 and a 12 month high of $79.39. The stock has a market cap of $84.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on APH shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Amphenol from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.68.

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.