AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Free Report) by 65.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,357 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 291,079 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of AMETEK worth $27,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AME. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in AMETEK by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,336,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,938 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3.0% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 33,034 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,672,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.60.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock traded up $1.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.28. 1,654,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,965. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $171.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business'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 value of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, 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. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AMETEK

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.