Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 309 Shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,225 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 309 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV bought a new stake in TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in TE Connectivity by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 218,154 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $31,189,000 after buying an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in TE Connectivity by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,468 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,358,000 after buying an additional 17,725 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in TE Connectivity by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 4,258 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 91.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TEL shares. 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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded TE Connectivity from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $166.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TE Connectivity presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

TE Connectivity Stock Performance

TEL stock opened at $153.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.19. The company has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 1-year low of $137.61 and a 1-year high of $159.98.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the electronics maker to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TE Connectivity news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $587,744.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

TE Connectivity 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.