Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,867,081 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,080,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AME. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% in 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 in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock opened at $175.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.76. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $40.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.