Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in AMETEK by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,199,454,000 after purchasing an additional 250,538 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,576 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,913 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 6,375 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 513,044 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $92,481,000 after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $180.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,843,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,899. The firm has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $170.28 and a 200 day moving average of $178.57. 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 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. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. AMETEK's payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AME. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

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.