Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 14,300 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 994,344 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 14,300 shares during the quarter. AMETEK comprises 1.3% of Gabelli Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.43% of AMETEK worth $179,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.5 %

AME stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.66. 1,698,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,281,519. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $174.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.69. The company has a market cap of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.