AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,117 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,290 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Ltd. CA increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 25,881 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. increased its position in AMETEK by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 5,736 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl raised its stake in AMETEK by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 62,007 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,177,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 260,727 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,986,000 after buying an additional 25,657 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 183,441 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,067,000 after buying an additional 20,690 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.3 %

AME stock traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.81. 711,135 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,105. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. 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 50 day moving average price of $172.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.41. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About AMETEK

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.