AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 313,723 Shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 579,382 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 313,723 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amphenol were worth $39,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,459,971 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,473,608,000 after purchasing an additional 321,861 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Amphenol by 92.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 36,637,988 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,468,301,000 after buying an additional 17,552,921 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Amphenol by 6.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,224,036 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,601,694,000 after buying an additional 1,979,022 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Amphenol by 69.1% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 23,225,629 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,564,711,000 after acquiring an additional 9,487,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Amphenol by 88.9% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 15,455,006 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,041,204,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275,279 shares during the period. 97.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphenol news, insider William J. Doherty sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.83, for a total transaction of $19,749,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Amphenol news, VP Lance E. D’amico sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $6,563,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 51,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,382. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider William J. Doherty sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.83, for a total value of $19,749,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,516,000 shares of company stock worth $98,236,640 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Amphenol Price Performance

Shares of APH opened at $65.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Amphenol Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $70.84. The company has a market cap of $78.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.24.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Amphenol had a return on equity of 24.08% and a net margin of 15.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Amphenol Co. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amphenol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Amphenol’s payout ratio is currently 40.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on APH. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amphenol in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Amphenol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on Amphenol in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.04.

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.