AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Stock Position Raised by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,909 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $697,080,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 471,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% during 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 buying an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AMETEK Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $157.66 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $174.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.70. The company has a market cap of $36.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AME. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.60.

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.