Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,388 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,774,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $189.18. 2,096,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,322,599. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. AMETEK's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.