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

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,824 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. AMETEK accounts for 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 large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AMETEK by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake 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, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $174.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $182.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.43. The company has a market cap 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 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.