Woodline Partners LP Buys 30,889 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 890.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,357 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,889 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $697,080,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,062 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215,087 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $219,030,000 after buying an additional 968,661 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $202,805,000 after purchasing an additional 794,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $114,769,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE AME traded up $3.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $180.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,512. The company's fifty day moving average is $168.64 and its 200-day moving average is $179.64. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $41.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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 target price on shares of AMETEK in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About AMETEK

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.