Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $3.10 Million Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,176 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,565 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. CWM LLC grew its stake in AMETEK by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,929,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 319.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,824 shares of the technology company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 185.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 13,010 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE:AME traded down $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $184.57. The company had a trading volume of 855,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.11. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.67.

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.