QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,081 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,302 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,081 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% in the third 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 during the period. 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. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp increased their price target on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME opened at $186.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $183.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.48. The company has a market capitalization of $42.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.