Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $2.21 Million Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 25.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,845 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,331 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 15,950.0% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the technology company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AME shares. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.89.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME stock traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $176.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,182. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day moving average is $171.32 and its 200 day moving average is $178.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.