AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,885 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,837 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth $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 during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade 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 insiders.

AMETEK Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:AME traded up $2.89 on Friday, reaching $170.15. 1,160,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,940. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $170.16 and a 200-day moving average of $179.49.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.73%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.