Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 3,506 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,189 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,506 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of AMETEK worth $22,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AME. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 87.9% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $337,279,000 after purchasing an additional 918,737 shares in the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in AMETEK during the third quarter valued at approximately $130,579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 72.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in AMETEK during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,782,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in AMETEK by 434.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 2.4 %

AMETEK stock traded up $4.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.82. 1,104,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,333,384. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AME. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,967,114. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.