Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,658 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CNB Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter worth $694,000. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of TE Connectivity by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 87,759.0% in the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 53,594 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after buying an additional 53,533 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter worth about $580,000. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in TE Connectivity by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 119,041 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $17,019,000 after acquiring an additional 4,913 shares in the last quarter. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

TE Connectivity stock opened at $154.64 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.32. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 52-week low of $137.61 and a 52-week high of $159.98.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3,916,310.63 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the electronics maker to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TEL shares. HSBC raised shares of TE Connectivity from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $166.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised 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. Citigroup upped their price target on TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TE Connectivity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

TE Connectivity Company 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.