Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Has $136.98 Million Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 759,787 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the quarter. AMETEK makes up 2.5% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.33% of AMETEK worth $136,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in AMETEK by 60.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AME stock opened at $183.42 on Monday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.19 and a 200-day moving average of $177.27.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.