Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Trims Position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,032,376 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 17,428 shares during the quarter. Amphenol comprises 1.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $71,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tacita Capital Inc grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 328.9% during the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 386 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphenol by 703.8% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 418 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 97.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on APH shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.68.

Amphenol Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of APH opened at $62.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $76.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. Amphenol Co. has a 12-month low of $54.27 and a 12-month high of $79.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. Amphenol’s revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.55%.

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.