Argent Capital Management LLC Buys 1,788 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,748 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.5 %

AME traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $180.89. 1,698,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,530. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $187.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.98. The stock has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,200 shares of company stock valued at $5,707,620. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AMETEK to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.44.

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.