Jennison Associates LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,881 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,205 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.14% of AMETEK worth $51,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 170,826 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,167,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 135.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 39,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,515,000 after buying an additional 22,698 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 115,151 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,987,000 after buying an additional 41,992 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,691 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,247,000 after buying an additional 3,063 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.25. 867,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,760. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $179.97 and its 200 day moving average is $165.07. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.12 and a 52 week high of $186.32.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 19.75%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 5,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.90, for a total value of $1,008,839.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,178,650.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AMETEK news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 5,973 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.90, for a total transaction of $1,008,839.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,178,650.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 10,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.