Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $3.26 Million Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,056 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,199,454,000 after purchasing an additional 250,538 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in AMETEK by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 28,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,129,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,771 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $171.69 on Friday. 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 $39.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.47.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.90.

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.

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