Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,864 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,009 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,041,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of 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. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 88,898 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,025,000 after buying an additional 12,584 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its position in AMETEK by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 8,418 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $171.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AMETEK's payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Activity

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm'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. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AME. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.90.

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.

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