Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,225 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of TEL. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth about $149,211,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 2,330.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 753,572 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $107,738,000 after buying an additional 722,565 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 31.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,004,540 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $445,603,000 after buying an additional 712,228 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 26.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,367,650 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $508,481,000 after buying an additional 694,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,852,607 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,940,615,000 after buying an additional 268,837 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at TE Connectivity

In related news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,925,752.88. This represents a 13.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

TE Connectivity Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of 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 company has a market cap of $45.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.19. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 1-year low of $137.61 and a 1-year high of $159.98.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TEL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on TE Connectivity from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded TE Connectivity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

About TE Connectivity

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.