California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 12,064 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391,702 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 12,064 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of AMETEK worth $70,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during 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 lifted its position in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% during 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 position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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 lowered their price target on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 1.7 %

AME traded up $2.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.15. 1,160,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,036. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

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

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.