Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 10,214 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,399 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,214 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $10,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AME. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $3,724,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $999,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in AMETEK by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,041,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in AMETEK by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 355,828 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,099,000 after buying an additional 67,025 shares during the period. Finally, Taurus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 115,033 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,752,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME opened at $186.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.06. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The stock has a market cap of $43.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. 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%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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 target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.