Country Trust Bank Lowers Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Country Trust Bank lowered its position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 820,272 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 66,898 shares during the period. Amphenol comprises approximately 1.4% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $56,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Amphenol by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,247 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 84,861 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 9,345 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Amphenol during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Amphenol in the fourth quarter valued at about $976,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APH opened at $71.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.99. Amphenol Co. has a 12 month low of $50.48 and a 12 month high of $79.39.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Amphenol’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Amphenol from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Straub sold 132,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $9,783,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $21,468,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 318,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,764,380.96. This represents a 48.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 612,000 shares of company stock worth $44,177,640 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.