Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 4,404 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,362 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $2,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $159.40 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $173.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

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

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.