Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 654,125 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 32,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of AMETEK worth $117,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.67.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.6 %

AME stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.22. 1,052,140 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,159,694. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $183.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.46. The stock has a market cap of $40.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 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 revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

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

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.