AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,911 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AME. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% during 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 period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $186.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.84. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.03 and a twelve month 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 market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.89%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Company 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.