Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $51.98 Million Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 88.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 288,341 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,319,078 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.12% of AMETEK worth $51,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $337,279,000 after acquiring an additional 918,737 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 240.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 471,950 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME traded down $4.45 on Thursday, hitting $156.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 330,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,267,557. The company has a market capitalization of $36.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AME shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.78.

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.