CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 25,657 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 260,727 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,657 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.11% of AMETEK worth $46,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm'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 value of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, 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. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AME shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of AME stock traded up $4.57 on Thursday, hitting $166.76. The company had a trading volume of 451,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,478. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.02 and a twelve month high of $198.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $172.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.41. The firm has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK 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.