King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,182 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $19,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AME. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,724,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter valued at $999,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in AMETEK by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in AMETEK by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 355,828 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,099,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 434.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

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

AMETEK Stock Performance

AMETEK stock opened at $179.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.33 and its 200-day moving average is $180.21.

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

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AME. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.