Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $12.09 Million in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 66,966 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,092,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,713,397,000 after buying an additional 282,208 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in AMETEK by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,199,454,000 after acquiring an additional 250,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $993,546,000 after acquiring an additional 124,713 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,415,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $795,939,000 after acquiring an additional 99,505 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE AME opened at $152.45 on Monday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.84 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.56 and a 200-day moving average of $180.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $35.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AME shares. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.