AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 70.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 491 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $89,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in AMETEK by 62.6% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $183.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.62.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.