Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 175 Shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) by 6.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,624 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in TE Connectivity were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in TE Connectivity by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,596,370 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,265,218,000 after acquiring an additional 5,526,230 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of TE Connectivity by 26.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,280,632 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $944,791,000 after buying an additional 1,304,199 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in TE Connectivity by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,118,636 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $469,113,000 after buying an additional 223,842 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in TE Connectivity by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,753,850 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $263,832,000 after buying an additional 55,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in TE Connectivity by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,434,642 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $215,813,000 after acquiring an additional 166,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.43% of the company’s stock.

TE Connectivity Price Performance

NYSE:TEL opened at $148.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.50 and its 200 day moving average is $149.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. TE Connectivity Ltd. has a 12 month low of $128.52 and a 12 month high of $159.98.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.48% and a net margin of 20.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TE Connectivity Ltd. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TE Connectivity announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the electronics maker to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TEL shares. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of TE Connectivity in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised TE Connectivity from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. HSBC downgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $137.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on TE Connectivity from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut TE Connectivity from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.55.

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.