LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Boosts Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in AMETEK, Inc. by 13.9%, owning 32,000 shares worth approximately $5.51 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• AMETEK recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 19.97%.
• Analysts have rated AMETEK stock as a "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $208.00, reflecting positive expectations for its growth.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,000 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in AMETEK were worth $5,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AME. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in AMETEK by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 6,260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. EWA LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 22,830 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AMETEK stock traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,556,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,472. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $180.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The technology company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 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, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. AMETEK's payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AMETEK from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on AMETEK from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on AMETEK from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

About AMETEK

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.