AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 68.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,899 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,102 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in AMETEK were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AME. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Price Performance

AME stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.18. The stock had a trading volume of 264,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,501. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $38.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $171.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.60.

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.