Aviva PLC Increases Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Aviva PLC raised its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 179.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,476 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 89,499 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of AMETEK worth $25,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th 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. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE:AME traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.54. 730,053 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,579. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $177.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.18. 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 $36.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. 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 of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

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.