Colonial Trust Co SC Boosts Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 796 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,713,397,000 after purchasing an additional 282,208 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,956,329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,614,468,000 after purchasing an additional 98,546 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AMETEK by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,985,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,199,454,000 after buying an additional 250,538 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,038,301,000 after buying an additional 2,371,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AMETEK by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $993,546,000 after buying an additional 124,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME stock opened at $171.57 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.36. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AME. StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.90.

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.