Bessemer Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) by 48.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,517 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 48,707 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $3,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 7,324 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,052 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 10.5% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,064 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Amphenol stock opened at $97.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.42. The company has a market cap of $118.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Amphenol Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.77 and a fifty-two week high of $98.07.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.11. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 27.68%. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amphenol Corporation will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Amphenol’s payout ratio is presently 32.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amphenol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. KGI Securities assumed coverage on shares of Amphenol in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Fox Advisors upgraded shares of Amphenol from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In other Amphenol news, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 2,000,000 shares of Amphenol stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.73, for a total value of $151,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,002,507 shares in the company, valued at $151,649,855.11. The trade was a 49.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Luc Walter sold 286,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $26,148,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 451,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,307,159.70. The trade was a 38.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,764,500 shares of company stock valued at $294,839,785. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.