Covea Finance Sells 56,857 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Covea Finance trimmed its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 46.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,266 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 56,857 shares during the period. Covea Finance's holdings in AMETEK were worth $11,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 15,950.0% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 428 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE AME opened at $176.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $173.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AME. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on AMETEK in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on 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 issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

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.

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