Merit Financial Group LLC Has $327,000 Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,294 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amphenol by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 110,298 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,934,000 after acquiring an additional 76,724 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Amphenol by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 104,988 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $10,407,000 after buying an additional 12,613 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Amphenol by 586.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after buying an additional 31,607 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Amphenol by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 572,052 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $56,707,000 after buying an additional 50,313 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Amphenol by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,429 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, insider Peter Straub sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.83.

Amphenol Price Performance

APH opened at $126.61 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $76.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Co. has a 12 month low of $72.77 and a 12 month high of $127.06.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.85% and a net margin of 15.87%. Amphenol’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the electronics maker to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Amphenol’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

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.