AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,531,566 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 535,877 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.66% of AMETEK worth $276,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in AMETEK by 240.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in AMETEK by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock worth $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 471,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

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AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $160.03. 323,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,614. The business has a fifty day moving average of $176.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.07. 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 capitalization of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.