Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 20,690 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,441 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,690 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.08% of AMETEK worth $33,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 240.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 10,506.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 471,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK 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 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. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE AME traded up $2.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,755,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,125. The stock has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.53. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

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.