AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Bought by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 238,131 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $42,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter worth about $3,724,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $999,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in AMETEK by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,009 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AMETEK by 434.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,614,000 after acquiring an additional 440,197 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock opened at $160.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.94. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued 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. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AME shares. Truist Financial reduced 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AMETEK in a report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. One equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.60.

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.