Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 6,842 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Headlands Technologies LLC trimmed its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,520 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,842 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth $3,724,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $999,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AMETEK by 434.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 139,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,942,000 after purchasing an additional 14,105 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $172.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.03 and a twelve month high of $198.33. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $182.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.06.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % 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

AME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on 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 shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Company 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.