AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 293,991 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 962,634 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 293,991 shares during the quarter. AMETEK accounts for about 0.8% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.42% of AMETEK worth $173,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AME. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,408. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $183.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

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

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.89%.

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.