First Trust Advisors LP Has $17.22 Million Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 51.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,550 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,251 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in AMETEK were worth $17,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AME. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,724,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in AMETEK by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,009 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth $999,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in AMETEK by 434.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,614,000 after buying an additional 440,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $169.28. 1,654,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,965. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.45. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AME. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.