35,466 Shares in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,466 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AMETEK by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in AMETEK by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AMETEK by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in AMETEK by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME stock opened at $175.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.03 and a twelve month high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $40.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.46.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company earned $1.68 EPS. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is 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.