AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 228.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,032 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,893 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in AMETEK by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 530,360 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $95,603,000 after buying an additional 3,528 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in AMETEK by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 199,631 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,986,000 after buying an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in AMETEK by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,023,724 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $197,589,000 after acquiring an additional 89,265 shares during the period. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 6,115 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME stock opened at $184.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $42.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AME. KeyCorp lifted their price target on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

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.