AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Shares Purchased by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 391,702 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,064 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.17% of AMETEK worth $70,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $697,080,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after buying an additional 2,371,062 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 240.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,125,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,805,000 after buying an additional 794,473 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after buying an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 10,506.5% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 476,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 471,950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock opened at $167.89 on Wednesday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $171.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.45.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.60.

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.