Groupama Asset Managment Lowers Stock Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,135 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,238 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $5,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $1,075,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $993,546,000 after acquiring an additional 124,713 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in AMETEK by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,616,000 after purchasing an additional 21,009 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in AMETEK by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $361,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $171.96 on Wednesday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.03 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $182.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.09. The company has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released 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 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is 20.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AME. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

AMETEK 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.