Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 82.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,498 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,795 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of AMETEK worth $28,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 276.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the technology company's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,668 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted 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 worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 35,678 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,126,000 after buying an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AME shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.67.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AME traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.30. The stock had a trading volume of 340,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,639. The business's 50 day moving average is $182.17 and its 200-day moving average is $181.09. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $39.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About AMETEK

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.