Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 119.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,226 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 15,366 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APH. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 118.3% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 49,108 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 26,612 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Amphenol by 307.7% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,932 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 21,835 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 98.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 5,196 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in Amphenol by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,012,702 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $68,226,000 after acquiring an additional 501,126 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphenol by 126.4% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 195,859 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $13,195,000 after purchasing an additional 109,334 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 750,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total value of $48,405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,934,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,875,089.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 750,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total transaction of $48,405,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,934,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,875,089.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 100,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $6,563,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 51,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,382. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,516,000 shares of company stock valued at $98,236,640 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amphenol Price Performance

NYSE:APH opened at $65.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. Amphenol Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $70.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 24.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APH shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America downgraded Amphenol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Amphenol from $45.00 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.04.

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.