Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 799,790 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 10,976 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.26% of TE Connectivity worth $112,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TEL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of TE Connectivity by 358.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 243 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in TE Connectivity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in TE Connectivity by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 322 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in TE Connectivity by 176.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 329 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 91.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TEL. Citigroup began coverage on TE Connectivity in a research note on Friday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on TE Connectivity from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on TE Connectivity in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on TE Connectivity from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TE Connectivity from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven T. Merkt sold 99,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total transaction of $14,367,888.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,386,096. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TE Connectivity Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE TEL opened at $142.79 on Wednesday. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 12 month low of $115.00 and a 12 month high of $147.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.32.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The electronics maker reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.13. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. TE Connectivity’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. TE Connectivity’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

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.