Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,368,744 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,940 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.59% of AMETEK worth $246,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in AMETEK by 2.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,526 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter worth approximately $372,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,067 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at $997,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK 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 sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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AMETEK Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AME traded down $9.04 on Friday, hitting $152.45. 2,753,011 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,498. The company has a market cap of $35.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.87. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33. 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 (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business 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 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 company earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.