Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $11.30 Million Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,660 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,261 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in AMETEK were worth $11,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,713,397,000 after purchasing an additional 282,208 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,956,329 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,614,468,000 after buying an additional 98,546 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after buying an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company's stock worth $993,546,000 after buying an additional 124,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,415,508 shares of the technology company's stock worth $795,939,000 after buying an additional 99,505 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock traded down $3.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.72. 1,261,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,291,261. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.02 and a twelve month high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. 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 50 day simple moving average of $170.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on AMETEK in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.