Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Acquires 34,866 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,024 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,866 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG owned approximately 0.08% of AMETEK worth $32,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $183.42 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.03 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s payout ratio is 18.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total transaction of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,967,114. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AME shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.