AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,010 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 131.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 21.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,538 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 6.4% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $167,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,781 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $187.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16. 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 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.87.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase 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 shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 18.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

About AMETEK

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.