AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AMETEK by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,220,376 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,583,231,000 after purchasing an additional 24,072 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,199,454,000 after purchasing an additional 250,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,401,656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $924,308,000 after purchasing an additional 45,459 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 87.9% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $337,279,000 after purchasing an additional 918,737 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $185.48 on Thursday. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $183.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.05.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has a consensus 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.