Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,871 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,145 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AMETEK Stock Performance
NYSE AME traded down $1.01 on Friday, hitting $183.42. 1,041,782 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,456,313. The firm has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $183.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.84.
AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.
AMETEK Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.
AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in 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 generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently weighed in on AME. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price target on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.67.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AMETEK
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at $9,750,024.90. This trade represents a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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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