Value Partners Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,228 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in AMETEK by 366.1% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $158.70 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $176.72 and a 200-day moving average of $180.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG 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.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AME. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. 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. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.