Freedom Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,677 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 801 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th 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. increased its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This 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 owned by company insiders.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME opened at $157.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.70.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

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

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.