Gradient Investments LLC Buys Shares of 253,236 Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 253,236 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $17,587,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Amphenol by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 268,219 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $17,477,000 after purchasing an additional 90,450 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Amphenol by 315.1% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 294,800 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $19,209,000 after purchasing an additional 223,784 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amphenol by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,899 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $6,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,496 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Amphenol during the 3rd quarter valued at $484,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 245,326 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $15,985,000 after acquiring an additional 16,425 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphenol news, insider Peter Straub sold 132,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $9,783,840.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David M. Silverman sold 180,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $12,925,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,340. This trade represents a 92.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,842,672 shares of company stock valued at $128,858,080. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amphenol Price Performance

APH stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,318,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,456,573. The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.00. Amphenol Co. has a 1-year low of $49.38 and a 1-year high of $79.39. The stock has a market cap of $92.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.37.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4,051,810 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The company's revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on APH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Amphenol from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Amphenol from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.92.

Amphenol 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.