LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,305 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.05% of AMETEK worth $20,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AMETEK by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
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 stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
AMETEK Price Performance
NYSE AME traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $172.60. 2,488,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,339,688. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $182.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.09. The company has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.
AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
AMETEK Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on AME shares. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AMETEK
About AMETEK
(
Free Report)
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.
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