TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,927 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TEL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in TE Connectivity by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,378,995 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,629,225,000 after purchasing an additional 4,029,596 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TE Connectivity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $508,199,000. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of TE Connectivity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $159,992,000. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,211,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 2,330.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 753,572 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $107,738,000 after purchasing an additional 722,565 shares during the last quarter. 91.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TE Connectivity Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of TEL opened at $142.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.10. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 1-year low of $137.61 and a 1-year high of $159.98. The stock has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.41.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 of this dividend 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

In related news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,812,497.52. This represents a 49.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, HSBC raised TE Connectivity from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $166.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.