Headlands Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Headlands Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,520 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,842 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in 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. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in 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 during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

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AMETEK Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE AME traded down $11.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $161.34. 1,872,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,984. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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 given a $0.31 dividend. 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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