AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 88.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,266 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 110,962 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE AME traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $178.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,078,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,688. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.25. The company has a market cap of $41.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm 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 presently 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AME shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

Insider Activity

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

AMETEK 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.