Balentine LLC Trims Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Balentine LLC lessened its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,308 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 413 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in AMETEK by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,189,108 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $618,983,000 after purchasing an additional 674,549 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth $589,098,000. Flossbach Von Storch AG grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 2,586,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $426,410,000 after purchasing an additional 252,455 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in AMETEK by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,362,467 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $349,078,000 after acquiring an additional 96,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in AMETEK by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,701,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $280,573,000 after acquiring an additional 255,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total value of $250,194.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,467,579.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total value of $250,194.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,467,579.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 27,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.05, for a total transaction of $5,070,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,710,045.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,941 shares of company stock worth $6,992,804. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $172.72 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.89 and a 12-month high of $186.32. The stock has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.62 and a 200 day moving average of $168.72.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.57% and a return on equity of 17.74%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AME shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $173.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.64.

AMETEK Company 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.