Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 6,130 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,665 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,130 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley started 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $196.90.

AMETEK Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE AME traded up $2.60 on Friday, reaching $182.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,167,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,916. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.02 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $168.32 and its 200-day moving average is $179.85.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.