Dundas Partners LLP Increases Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Dundas Partners LLP boosted its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,812 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 9,042 shares during the quarter. Dundas Partners LLP owned approximately 0.06% of AMETEK worth $25,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AMETEK by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,220,376 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,583,231,000 after acquiring an additional 24,072 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,199,454,000 after acquiring an additional 250,538 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,401,656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $924,308,000 after acquiring an additional 45,459 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in AMETEK by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,415,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $795,939,000 after acquiring an additional 99,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its holdings in AMETEK by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 3,724,352 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $671,352,000 after acquiring an additional 91,287 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 2.6 %

AME stock traded down $4.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $172.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,721,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,363,497. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.19.

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

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. AMETEK's payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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 upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a 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 target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.67.

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.