Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 35.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,971 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 62.6% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. 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. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.6 %

AME stock opened at $176.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

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

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.