AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lowered its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,458 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 953 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $337,279,000 after buying an additional 918,737 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the third quarter valued at $130,579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $79,782,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 434.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,614,000 after buying an additional 440,197 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $184.54 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.16.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This trade represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.