Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 4,940 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,368,744 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $246,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 87.9% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $337,279,000 after buying an additional 918,737 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,805,000 after buying an additional 794,473 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 471,950 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $171.96 on Wednesday. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.03 and a twelve month high of $198.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $182.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.09.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AME. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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 downgraded shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Company 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.