AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,770 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $5,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 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% during 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, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $184.54 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.65.

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, 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 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is 18.89%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AME shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently 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.