Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 433,681 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. $AME

Key Points

• Franklin Resources reduced its AMETEK stake by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 433,681 shares and leaving it with 1,335,389 shares valued at about $274.2 million.
• AMETEK has drawn generally positive analyst coverage, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.33. Recent updates included price-target increases from Barclays and RBC.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.97 EPS on $1.93 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share payable June 30.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,335,389 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 433,681 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.58% of AMETEK worth $274,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. BOKF NA raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 145 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 201 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AME has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $244.00 price objective on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $114,893.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $971,174.40. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME opened at $229.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.25 and a 200 day moving average of $219.89. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.43 and a fifty-two week high of $243.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 16.63%. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. AMETEK has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.940-8.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.960-2.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.54%.

About AMETEK

AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications.

The company operates through two primary business platforms — an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.