Bank of America Raises Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Price Target to $124.00

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) had its target price raised by Bank of America from $121.00 to $124.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

APH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a hold rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amphenol currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.83.

Amphenol Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:APH opened at $120.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30. Amphenol has a 1-year low of $72.77 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.81.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amphenol will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

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

Amphenol announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total transaction of $2,212,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.64, for a total transaction of $2,212,800.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at $3,589,000. West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in Amphenol by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 128,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after buying an additional 50,778 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Amphenol by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 38,264 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,793,000 after buying an additional 14,843 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at $2,875,000. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amphenol in the 4th quarter valued at $1,071,000. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.