Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Raises Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 193,927 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,373 shares during the quarter. AMETEK makes up approximately 2.4% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of AMETEK worth $34,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AME traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $165.35. 377,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,320. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $172.08 and a 200 day moving average of $179.56. The stock has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.75%. AMETEK's payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

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.