Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,526,369 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,713 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.39% of AMETEK worth $993,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in AMETEK by 62.6% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $172.60 on Thursday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.03 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.85 and a 200 day moving average of $181.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.