Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 5,290 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 82.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AMETEK Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AME stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.81. The company had a trading volume of 711,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,283. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.41. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a market cap 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 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

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.