Clearbridge Investments LLC Raises Holdings in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,064,822 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,702,825 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 1.36% of TE Connectivity worth $581,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,378,995 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,629,225,000 after acquiring an additional 4,029,596 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,852,607 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,940,615,000 after purchasing an additional 268,837 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,981,870 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $899,681,000 after purchasing an additional 75,658 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,749,622 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $536,083,000 after acquiring an additional 488,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $508,199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

TE Connectivity Stock Down 3.4 %

TEL opened at $142.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.68. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a one year low of $137.61 and a one year high of $159.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.41.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This is an increase from TE Connectivity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. TE Connectivity’s payout ratio is 45.37%.

Insider Activity at TE Connectivity

In other news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.77, for a total transaction of $3,669,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,976 shares in the company, valued at $3,812,497.52. This trade represents a 49.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TEL. StockNews.com downgraded TE Connectivity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

About TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.