Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $389.89 Million Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,264,927 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 716,849 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.98% of AMETEK worth $389,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $697,080,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,062 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 393.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215,087 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $219,030,000 after purchasing an additional 968,661 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 18,368.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 973,280 shares of the technology company's stock worth $167,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968,010 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,805,000 after purchasing an additional 794,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AME. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Melius Research upgraded shares of AMETEK to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.30.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.63. 562,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,060. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $178.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.41.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.29%.

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.