Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 173 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,041 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $3,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 90,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AMETEK by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 30,945 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,578,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Financial LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 9,694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at about $690,000. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $187.27 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.87. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33. 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 company has a market cap of $43.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.89%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.67.

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.