Short Interest in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Decreases By 23.0%

AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a drop of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE AME traded up $5.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $167.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,253,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,431. AMETEK has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $172.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.41.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 lowered their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.60.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other AMETEK 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 transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $288,526,000 after buying an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth $2,336,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 27.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,938 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 3.0% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 33,034 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,672,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.