Amphenol Corporation $APH Stock: Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Holdings

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) by 87.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 671,539 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 312,764 shares during the quarter. Amphenol accounts for approximately 9.3% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $56,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APH. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 303,154 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,556,000 after acquiring an additional 151,944 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Amphenol by 53.4% during the third quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new stake in Amphenol during the third quarter worth about $5,006,000. Arlington Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Amphenol during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amphenol by 94.5% during the third quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,834 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 13,041 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Monday. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Amphenol in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amphenol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Amphenol from $175.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.32.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APH opened at $71.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.27. Amphenol Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.01 and a 12 month high of $89.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.42 and a 200-day moving average of $75.54.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a return on equity of 42.53% and a net margin of 17.95%. The business had revenue of $10.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 65.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a decrease from Amphenol’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buy back $4 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In other news, CEO Richard Norwitt sold 799,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $65,949,028.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,855,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,961,554.72. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amphenol Company Profile

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH) is a global manufacturer of electrical, electronic and fiber-optic connectors, interconnect systems and related products. Its portfolio includes cable assemblies, sensors, antennas, backplane systems, radio-frequency components and other specialized electronic hardware.

The company serves customers across a range of industries, including automotive, aerospace and defense, information technology and data communications, industrial, mobile networks, commercial aerospace, medical and other markets.