AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,339 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 45,678 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in AMETEK were worth $18,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.81. 711,149 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,294,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.41.

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

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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