JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,592,686 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,392,664 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.42% of AMETEK worth $1,008,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in AMETEK by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 22,626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 361,057 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,835,000 after purchasing an additional 29,145 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 156,498 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,210,000 after purchasing an additional 70,795 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,889 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,713,397,000 after purchasing an additional 282,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other 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 value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $170.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.60 and a 200-day moving average of $180.80. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33.

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

AMETEK announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is 20.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.67.

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.