Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $219.03 Million Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 393.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,215,087 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 968,661 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.53% of AMETEK worth $219,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 3.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 250,538 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC bought a new stake in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in AMETEK by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,041,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in AMETEK by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,771 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AME. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $171.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board 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.