Woodline Partners LP Grows Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 890.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,357 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 30,889 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AME. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at about $697,080,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in AMETEK by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,038,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AMETEK by 393.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215,087 shares of the technology company's stock worth $219,030,000 after acquiring an additional 968,661 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 240.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,769,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $178.93. The stock had a trading volume of 164,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,014. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The company 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%. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

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 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $212.00 target price on shares of AMETEK in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.