Wolverine Asset Management LLC Invests $793,000 in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $690,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Amphenol by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,860 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Amphenol by 29,190.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,858 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 5,838 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Amphenol by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 128,322 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,721,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Amphenol by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 1,423 shares in the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphenol Trading Up 2.3 %

APH opened at $119.00 on Friday. Amphenol Co. has a 12 month low of $72.00 and a 12 month high of $119.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.44.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.26 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Amphenol Co. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

Amphenol announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the electronics maker to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on APH. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Amphenol from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Amphenol from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Amphenol in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.83.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In other news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $1,571,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,692,075. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total value of $10,467,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total value of $1,571,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,075. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 305,000 shares of company stock valued at $31,846,050. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Amphenol

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.