CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,535 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,376 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 188.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,749,446 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,355,000 after purchasing an additional 69,137 shares in the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 15,655 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 154,533 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,856,000 after buying an additional 21,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 183,024 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,992,000 after buying an additional 34,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $188.82 on Thursday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $182.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business 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 for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.89%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas raised 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, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.