274,563 Shares in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 274,563 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $49,493,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.12% of AMETEK at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 32,885 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AMETEK by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,761,312 shares of the technology company's stock worth $317,494,000 after purchasing an additional 53,363 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in AMETEK by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 20,163 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,479,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade 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 at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:AME traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $178.86. 2,078,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,688. The firm's fifty day moving average is $168.83 and its 200-day moving average is $179.25. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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 increased their target price on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

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.