Norges Bank Invests $1.38 Billion in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 19,853,043 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,794,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 328.9% in the fourth quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 386 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amphenol in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Amphenol by 703.8% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 418 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Amphenol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Amphenol from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Amphenol from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Amphenol from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.68.

Amphenol Stock Down 2.8 %

APH opened at $67.54 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.69. The company has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.25. Amphenol Co. has a 1-year low of $54.72 and a 1-year high of $79.39. 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 for 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 quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amphenol Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.55%.

Amphenol 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.