Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,156 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,852,607 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,940,615,000 after acquiring an additional 268,837 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,981,870 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $899,681,000 after acquiring an additional 75,658 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,749,622 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $536,083,000 after acquiring an additional 488,680 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,367,650 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $508,481,000 after acquiring an additional 694,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,004,540 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $445,603,000 after acquiring an additional 712,228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TEL. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. HSBC upgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $166.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TE Connectivity presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

TEL opened at $150.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.68. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 1 year low of $137.61 and a 1 year high of $159.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.32.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $587,744.57. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,925,752.88. This trade represents a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.