Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 244 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,824 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. AMETEK comprises 1.5% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in AMETEK by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 149,668 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,805,000 after acquiring an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,923 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 6,909 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 42,513 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,261 shares during the period. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE AME opened at $174.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.03 and a 1 year high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the 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 owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AME has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Truist Financial increased 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. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.