Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 8,512 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,881 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the period. AMETEK accounts for approximately 1.4% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.06% of AMETEK worth $21,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,189,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $618,983,000 after purchasing an additional 674,549 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter valued at $90,248,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,081,557 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $159,811,000 after purchasing an additional 496,523 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,032,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $152,606,000 after purchasing an additional 357,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in AMETEK by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,586,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $426,410,000 after purchasing an additional 252,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AMETEK stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $178.17. 264,336 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,106. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.16. The stock has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.22. AMETEK, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.77 and a fifty-two week high of $186.32.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 19.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.75%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.51, for a total value of $2,938,308.87. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at $17,138,983.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.51, for a total transaction of $2,938,308.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,138,983.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.59, for a total transaction of $252,826.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,066,271.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AME. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.78.

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.