iA Global Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,476 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,822 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of 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. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, 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 value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AME traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $179.69. 1,166,263 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,200. The company's 50-day moving average is $182.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.71. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. AMETEK's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AME shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.