Ardevora Asset Management LLP Lowers Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP cut its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,207 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 54,070 shares during the quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in AMETEK were worth $10,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $141,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $141,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 5,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.90, for a total value of $1,008,839.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,178,650.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.70. The stock had a trading volume of 806,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,235. The company's 50-day moving average is $179.45 and its 200 day moving average is $164.56. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.12 and a 12-month high of $186.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.22.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 19.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $180.78.

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.