HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,412 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $9,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE AME opened at $178.76 on Tuesday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The stock has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $183.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.