Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $114.26, but opened at $119.19. Amphenol shares last traded at $117.73, with a volume of 1,518,417 shares.

The electronics maker reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.30%.

Amphenol declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Amphenol in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Amphenol from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphenol 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 value of $1,571,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,075. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was 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 owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,075. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total transaction of $17,595,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter worth about $1,078,167,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,245,014 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,899,059,000 after purchasing an additional 8,340,759 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 101.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,987,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,901 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amphenol by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,138,110 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,250,181,000 after purchasing an additional 965,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Amphenol by 6,323.2% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 978,130 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $96,962,000 after purchasing an additional 962,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.44.

Amphenol Company Profile

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.