AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc reduced its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,530 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 13,035 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.6 %

AME stock opened at $188.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.81. The company has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month 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.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

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.