Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $16.78 Million Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,730 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in AMETEK were worth $16,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

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AMETEK Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:AME traded down $2.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $175.90. 895,219 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,417. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.42. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $149.03 and a one 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AME shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.67.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.