Principal Securities Inc. Increases Stock Position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,166 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,574 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Amphenol were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 89.5% in 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 buying an additional 2,032,402 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Amphenol in the third quarter valued at $113,828,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 3.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,537,880 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 151.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,332,298 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 157.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,180,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on APH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.68.

Amphenol Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of APH traded down $1.80 on Friday, reaching $67.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,015,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,469,862. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $79.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.73 and a 200-day moving average of $68.68.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol's payout ratio is 34.46%.

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.