Amphenol Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:APH)

Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 7,048 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 60% compared to the typical volume of 4,410 put options.

Insider Transactions at Amphenol

In related news, insider Luc Walter sold 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $15,541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 397,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,844,209.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Amphenol by 23.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,858 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,356,000 after buying an additional 9,992 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Amphenol by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Amphenol by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,851 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 130,929 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,979,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APH. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amphenol in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amphenol in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Amphenol from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Vertical Research started coverage on Amphenol in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Amphenol from $67.50 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.35.

Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of Amphenol stock opened at $61.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.39. The company has a market cap of $74.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.25. Amphenol has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $70.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.06.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The company’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.91%.

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.