Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Price Target Raised to $130.00

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

APH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Amphenol in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a hold rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $118.83.

Amphenol Price Performance

NYSE APH opened at $120.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30. Amphenol has a 52 week low of $72.77 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.81.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Amphenol will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Amphenol’s payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total transaction of $17,595,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total value of $2,212,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total transaction of $17,595,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth $3,589,000. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its stake in Amphenol by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 128,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,779,000 after acquiring an additional 50,778 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Amphenol by 63.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,264 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 14,843 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth $2,875,000. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth $1,071,000. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

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.