AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 62.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,141 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 269,620 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of AMETEK worth $29,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AME. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AME shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AME traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 948,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,167. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK 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.