ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 9,786 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. $AME

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel increased its stake in AMETEK by 8.9%, buying 9,786 shares to hold 119,801 shares valued at about $24.6 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• AMETEK beat quarterly expectations with $2.01 EPS vs. $1.94 expected and $2.0 billion revenue (up 13.4% year-over-year), and provided Q1 2026 guidance of $1.85–1.90 EPS and FY2026 guidance of $7.87–8.07 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.34 (annualized $1.36, yield ~0.6%), and institutional investors own about 87.43% of the stock.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,801 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,786 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of AMETEK worth $24,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AMETEK during the second quarter worth about $25,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $234.35 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $225.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.73 and a fifty-two week high of $242.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $53.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.04.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.07. AMETEK had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AMETEK has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.870-8.070 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AME. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $245.00 to $235.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of AMETEK from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $114,893.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $971,174.40. This represents a 10.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Profile

AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications.

The company operates through two primary business platforms — an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.