Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,941 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 40,220 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $21,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in AMETEK by 62.6% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME opened at $179.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $183.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.21. 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 results 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. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AME shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

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

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.