Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 8,512 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,881 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares during the quarter. AMETEK comprises approximately 1.4% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $21,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AME. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 8.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,801 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,619,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 78.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,363 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,210,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 40,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,958,000 after purchasing an additional 13,041 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 5,973 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at $17,178,650.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.59, for a total value of $252,826.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,066,271.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 5,973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at $17,178,650.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,881 shares of company stock valued at $10,689,758 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.1 %

AME stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $178.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 264,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,106. The company has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $180.05 and its 200-day moving average is $165.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.77 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.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. AMETEK’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a boost 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.