Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,934 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 35,825 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of AMETEK worth $25,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 15,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 188.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $212.00 target price on AMETEK in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.89.

AMETEK Stock Down 1.8%

AME traded down $3.25 on Friday, hitting $176.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,842. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.29%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.