Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Decreases Position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,349 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,813 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $17,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amphenol in the fourth quarter worth $157,749,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Amphenol by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,303,215 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $280,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032,402 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol in the third quarter worth about $113,828,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Amphenol by 3,103.8% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,684,596 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $116,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the 4th quarter valued at $109,276,000. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Stock Down 1.6 %

APH opened at $66.35 on Friday. Amphenol Co. has a twelve month low of $54.72 and a twelve month high of $79.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol’s payout ratio is currently 34.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.68.

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.