Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,147,772 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 282,208 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.30% of AMETEK worth $4,713,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Up 2.6 %

AMETEK stock opened at $178.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AME. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.