AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,600 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 10,677 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $16,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake 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. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME traded up $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.86. 840,909 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,288,246. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The stock's fifty day moving average is $169.03 and its 200 day moving average is $179.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The business 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%. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 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 share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AME. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $196.90.

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.