Norges Bank Invests $697.08 Million in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,867,081 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,080,000. Norges Bank owned 1.67% of AMETEK as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 87.9% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $337,279,000 after purchasing an additional 918,737 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,805,000 after buying an additional 794,473 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 471,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in AMETEK in the third quarter valued at $79,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $175.52 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $40.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.76. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. AMETEK’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com cut AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.