Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Downgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Amphenol (NYSE:APH) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Bank of America currently has $71.00 price target on the electronics maker’s stock, down from their prior price target of $80.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APH. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Amphenol to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Vertical Research started coverage on Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a hold rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $67.50 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $65.04.

Amphenol Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of APH stock opened at $59.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.25. Amphenol has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $70.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 24.08%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amphenol will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Luc Walter sold 170,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $10,897,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 447,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,703,339. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Amphenol news, insider Luc Walter sold 170,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $10,897,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 447,790 shares in the company, valued at $28,703,339. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 750,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total transaction of $48,405,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,934,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,875,089.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,516,000 shares of company stock valued at $98,236,640 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amphenol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $789,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,294 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Amphenol by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,180,261 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $315,259,000 after buying an additional 73,662 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Amphenol in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Amphenol by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,306,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $129,480,000 after acquiring an additional 34,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

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.