Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 163,593 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,656 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $23,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the 4th quarter worth $1,002,000. London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,705,296 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $243,806,000 after purchasing an additional 341,369 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 8,454 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 2,334.5% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,647,000 after purchasing an additional 31,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,729 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TEL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of TE Connectivity from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of TE Connectivity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $165.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.50.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

TEL opened at $162.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 52-week low of $116.30 and a 52-week high of $163.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.37. The company has a market cap of $48.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.24.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. TE Connectivity had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

TE Connectivity Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from TE Connectivity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. TE Connectivity’s dividend payout ratio is 62.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TE Connectivity

In related news, insider Aaron Kyle Stucki sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,783,360. This trade represents a 17.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Malavika Sagar sold 3,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $948,320. This trade represents a 34.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,275 shares of company stock worth $23,740,419 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.