T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Buys 34,465 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 118.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,657 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,465 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $11,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,574,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AME. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AMETEK stock opened at $166.81 on Monday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $172.08 and a 200-day moving average of $179.56. The firm has a market cap of $38.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during 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%. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

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.

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