AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,184 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,994 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at $697,080,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215,087 shares of the technology company's stock worth $219,030,000 after acquiring an additional 968,661 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 18,368.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 973,280 shares of the technology company's stock worth $167,540,000 after acquiring an additional 968,010 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AME. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $212.00 price target on AMETEK in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.89.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AME traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $180.99. 839,398 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,303,439. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $178.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $41.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 20.43%. AMETEK's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.