Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 4,444 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 310.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,877 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,444 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $212.00 target price on AMETEK in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

AMETEK Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:AME traded up $1.51 on Friday, hitting $178.44. 1,041,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,541. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $169.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.79.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.