TE Connectivity Ltd. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 (NYSE:TEL)

TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 20th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share by the electronics maker on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st.

TE Connectivity has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. TE Connectivity has a payout ratio of 29.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect TE Connectivity to earn $8.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.2%.

TE Connectivity Stock Up 1.0 %

TEL stock opened at $154.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.21. TE Connectivity has a 52 week low of $137.61 and a 52 week high of $159.98. 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 (NYSE:TEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. TE Connectivity’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TE Connectivity will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on TE Connectivity from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

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

Insider Transactions at TE Connectivity

In other news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $587,744.57. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,925,752.88. This represents a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.