Snyder Capital Management L P Acquires 45,024 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Snyder Capital Management L P grew its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 657,906 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,024 shares during the quarter. AMETEK accounts for approximately 2.5% of Snyder Capital Management L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Snyder Capital Management L P owned about 0.28% of AMETEK worth $118,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AME traded down $0.45 on Monday, reaching $166.24. 955,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,295,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $172.08 and its 200-day moving average is $179.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

AMETEK announced that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AME. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.60.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.