TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) Stake Boosted by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 384,804 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,031 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.12% of TE Connectivity worth $54,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in TE Connectivity by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 167,814 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $23,674,000 after acquiring an additional 25,717 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 224,937 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $31,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 98,523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $13,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in TE Connectivity during the 4th quarter worth $214,000. 91.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TE Connectivity news, insider Steven T. Merkt sold 99,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total transaction of $14,367,888.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,386,096. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of TE Connectivity in a research report on Friday, March 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TE Connectivity in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on TE Connectivity from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on TE Connectivity in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.67.

TE Connectivity Stock Performance

TEL traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $143.99. 398,874 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,129,470. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 52 week low of $115.00 and a 52 week high of $147.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.39.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electronics maker reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.13. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 20.69% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TE Connectivity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. TE Connectivity’s payout ratio is 22.39%.

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.