Whittier Trust Co. Has $526,000 Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,916 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AME. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,476 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in AMETEK by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 7,798 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in AMETEK by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 93,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,806,000 after purchasing an additional 30,716 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in AMETEK by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 432,790 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,015,000 after buying an additional 21,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth $891,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME opened at $174.50 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.53. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AME shares. 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. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

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.