Ethic Inc. Increases Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,192 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,588 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AME. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.90.

AMETEK Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AME opened at $171.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $168.51 and its 200 day moving average is $179.47. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.02 and a twelve month high of $198.33. 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 (NYSE:AME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

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.