AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,677 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 801 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in AMETEK by 72.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,336,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 27.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,938 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3.0% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 33,034 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,672,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME stock opened at $157.66 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $36.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.70.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given 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 yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AME. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.60.

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.