Raiffeisen Bank International AG Acquires Shares of 38,329 AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 38,329 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,928,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AME. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in AMETEK by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AMETEK by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AMETEK stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $181.77. 894,445 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,999. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.32 and a 200-day moving average of $179.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AME. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on AMETEK in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.10.

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.