GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,270 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,724,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in AMETEK by 23.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 355,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,099,000 after buying an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AMETEK by 36.5% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 74,757 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,837,000 after buying an additional 20,001 shares during the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AMETEK by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 115,033 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,752,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 139,434 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,942,000 after acquiring an additional 14,105 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $179.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $187.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.41. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.04. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This trade represents a 24.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,200 shares of company stock worth $5,707,620. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen lowered shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AMETEK from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 $202.50.

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.