Two Sigma Advisers LP Purchases 6,400 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,900 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.14% of AMETEK worth $56,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,713,397,000 after buying an additional 282,208 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,956,329 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,614,468,000 after buying an additional 98,546 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,199,454,000 after buying an additional 250,538 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,038,301,000 after buying an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company's stock worth $993,546,000 after buying an additional 124,713 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AME traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,108,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,959. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $168.63 and its 200 day moving average is $179.80.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $212.00 price target on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.