Ascent Group LLC Acquires 2,393 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,885 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $5,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in AMETEK by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho set a $212.00 target price on AMETEK in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.89.

AMETEK Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AMETEK stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.80. 941,318 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,432. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $168.74 and its 200 day moving average is $179.65. The firm has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company 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%. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter 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 expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

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.