AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Bought by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 695.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,871 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,378 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $202,805,000 after buying an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AMETEK by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock worth $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AMETEK by 10,506.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 471,950 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.5 %

AME traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $157.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,698,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,519. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.69.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AME shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK 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.