Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 300.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,219 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 14,419 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,724,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,616,000 after purchasing an additional 21,009 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at $999,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position 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 valued at $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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 AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $167.89. 948,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,294,167. The stock has a market cap of $38.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $171.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.53. 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 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 during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. AMETEK's payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.