JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Amphenol (NYSE:APH) Price Target to $130.00

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the electronics maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.95% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Amphenol in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Amphenol from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Amphenol from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Amphenol from $107.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Amphenol from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.58.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APH traded up $1.93 on Thursday, reaching $118.24. 2,194,661 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,843,969. Amphenol has a fifty-two week low of $72.00 and a fifty-two week high of $119.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.48 and its 200-day moving average is $99.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amphenol will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the electronics maker to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,391,200.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total value of $1,571,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,075. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Craig A. Lampo sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.67, for a total transaction of $10,467,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,391,200.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 305,000 shares of company stock valued at $31,846,050. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,078,167,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Amphenol by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,245,014 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,899,059,000 after purchasing an additional 8,340,759 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Amphenol by 101.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,987,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,901 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amphenol by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,138,110 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,250,181,000 after purchasing an additional 965,951 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in Amphenol by 6,323.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 978,130 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $96,962,000 after purchasing an additional 962,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.01% 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.