Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $6.70 Million Holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,626 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $6,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hixon Zuercher LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 21,437 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 6,113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,844 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,421 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,573 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 97.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on APH. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $118.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amphenol has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.75.

Insider Activity at Amphenol

In related news, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total value of $10,467,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,045 shares in the company, valued at $15,391,200.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 170,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.50, for a total value of $17,595,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 305,000 shares of company stock worth $31,846,050 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Amphenol stock opened at $110.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.77 and a 200-day moving average of $98.35. The stock has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Amphenol Co. has a 52-week low of $72.00 and a 52-week high of $119.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.30%.

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.