AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Acquired by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 573.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 151,258 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 128,795 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.07% of AMETEK worth $26,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AME. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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 AMETEK 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the 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 directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 6.4 %

NYSE AME opened at $161.11 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.27.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 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.