Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 361,057 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,145 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of AMETEK worth $64,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in AMETEK by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Down 3.0 %

AME stock opened at $170.25 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $39.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.80.

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

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

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.