Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 326,464 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $46,675,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter worth $649,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in TE Connectivity by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,444 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in TE Connectivity by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 97,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $13,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,309 shares during the period. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 288,273 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $41,214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,184 shares during the period. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

NYSE:TEL opened at $155.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.32. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 52-week low of $137.61 and a 52-week high of $159.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.11 and a 200 day moving average of $148.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.68.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the electronics maker to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TE Connectivity news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of TE Connectivity stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $587,744.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,925,752.88. The trade was a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on TE Connectivity from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised TE Connectivity from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

TE Connectivity Company Profile

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.