Commerce Bank Sells 2,265 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. by 2.2%, selling 2,265 shares to end the quarter with 100,808 shares valued at approximately $17.35 million.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their positions in AMETEK, with Capital World Investors raising its holdings by 70% in the last quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded AMETEK's target prices, with Mizuho increasing its target from $212.00 to $225.00, signaling positive market expectations for the stock.

Commerce Bank reduced its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,808 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,265 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in AMETEK were worth $17,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,956,329 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,614,468,000 after purchasing an additional 98,546 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in AMETEK by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,038,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its position in AMETEK by 1.2% in the first quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 3,770,066 shares of the technology company's stock worth $648,979,000 after acquiring an additional 45,714 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in AMETEK by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,375,972 shares of the technology company's stock worth $428,293,000 after acquiring an additional 342,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in AMETEK by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,250,797 shares of the technology company's stock worth $405,729,000 after acquiring an additional 286,561 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.91.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:AME traded up $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $184.87. 1,919,821 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,398,599. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $179.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.99. The company has a market cap of $42.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.10.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.09. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 20.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

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.