Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,302 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,864 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $8,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 19.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,189,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $618,983,000 after purchasing an additional 674,549 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its holdings in AMETEK by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,586,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $426,410,000 after buying an additional 252,455 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in AMETEK by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,362,467 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $349,078,000 after buying an additional 96,793 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,193,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,413,000 after buying an additional 10,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 84.9% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,081,557 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $159,811,000 after acquiring an additional 496,523 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AME. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. Truist Financial began coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.78.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.38, for a total value of $1,277,453.58. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,993,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AMETEK news, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,891 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.38, for a total transaction of $1,277,453.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,993,641.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $141,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:AME opened at $166.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.21. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.89 and a twelve month high of $186.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.91% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.75%.

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.