AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Stock Position Raised by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 228.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,032 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,893 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AME. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in AMETEK by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE AME traded down $4.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $172.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,721,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,363,497. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.19.

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

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

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.