Cornerstone Capital Inc. Sells 11,887 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lessened its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,296 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,887 shares during the period. AMETEK makes up 2.1% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $20,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter worth $3,724,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,009 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $999,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in AMETEK by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,614,000 after acquiring an additional 440,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 2.9 %

AME stock traded up $4.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $166.87. The stock had a trading volume of 549,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,473. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.41. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

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

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.