National Pension Service Sells 269,685 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

National Pension Service trimmed its position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,760,545 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 269,685 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $191,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 208.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,095 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,765,000 after buying an additional 18,322 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 98,432 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 25,007 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 50.9% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 268,219 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $17,477,000 after buying an additional 90,450 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 315.1% during the third quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 294,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $19,209,000 after buying an additional 223,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 22.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,899 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,966,000 after buying an additional 19,496 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Price Performance

APH stock opened at $66.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $80.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Amphenol Co. has a 12-month low of $53.76 and a 12-month high of $79.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.77.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Amphenol’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on APH. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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, Amphenol presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.68.

About Amphenol

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.