Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 373 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in AMETEK by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in 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. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.1 %

AMETEK stock opened at $185.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.05. The company has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33.

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

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AME shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho boosted their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.