AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 393.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,215,087 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 968,661 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.53% of AMETEK worth $219,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in AMETEK by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,199,454,000 after buying an additional 250,538 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC bought a new position in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Czech National Bank increased 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 worth $9,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in AMETEK by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,771 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AME traded up $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $180.12. 1,335,237 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,296,158. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. AMETEK's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

AMETEK declared 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 purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AME. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $196.90.

Insider Activity

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.