AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Robocap Asset Management Ltd

Robocap Asset Management Ltd cut its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,646 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,471 shares during the period. AMETEK makes up about 4.1% of Robocap Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Robocap Asset Management Ltd's holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AMETEK by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.8% in the third quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in 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 during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in AMETEK by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the technology company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AME traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.48. 1,394,719 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,140. The stock's 50-day moving average is $183.73 and its 200-day moving average is $177.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Company 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.