LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,657 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.
AMETEK Price Performance
Shares of AME traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,698,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,519. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.83 and a 200 day moving average of $179.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33.
AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during 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%. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.
AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
AMETEK Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.91%.
Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK
In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was 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.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.60.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AME
About AMETEK
(
Free Report)
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.
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