Voleon Capital Management LP Buys New Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,311 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,498,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in 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 last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.60.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This 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 Stock Up 0.1 %

AMETEK stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $170.19. 1,471,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,291,668. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $39.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $170.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.49.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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 dividend yield of 0.73%. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.