State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Boosts Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 69.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,000 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,832 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in AMETEK were worth $9,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AME. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at $697,080,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in AMETEK by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after buying an additional 2,371,062 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in AMETEK by 72.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 471,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME traded up $0.90 on Tuesday, reaching $167.19. 264,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,291,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $171.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.53.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the 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 owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was 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 equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

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.