Entropy Technologies LP Takes $1.89 Million Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,492 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,900,000 after purchasing an additional 14,834 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in AMETEK by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 13,698 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,469,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in AMETEK by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 1,520 shares of the technology company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 27,382 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,936,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $2,390,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME stock traded down $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $184.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 855,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,041. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The stock's 50 day moving average is $183.54 and its 200-day moving average is $177.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Company Profile

AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in the North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, and internationally. The company's EIG segment offers advanced instruments for the process, aerospace, power, and industrial markets; process and analytical instruments for the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, automation, and food and beverage industries; instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets; power quality monitoring and c devices, uninterruptible power supplies, programmable power and electromagnetic compatibility test equipment, and sensors for gas turbines and dashboard instruments; heavy trucks, instrumentation, and controls for the food and beverage industries; and aircraft and engine sensors, power supplies, embedded computing, monitoring, fuel and fluid measurement, and data acquisition systems for aerospace and defense industry.