Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lessened its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,695 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AME. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,526,000 after buying an additional 703,501 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,526 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $372,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,067 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 416.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 87,178 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,969,000 after buying an additional 70,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AME shares. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AMETEK Price Performance

AMETEK stock opened at $172.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.06.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its 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. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.