Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 14,689 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,504 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,689 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $7,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,750,024.90. This represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $184.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $184.29 and its 200 day moving average is $176.65.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

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.