Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 43,003 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 96,946 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 43,003 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $15,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Giverny Capital Inc. boosted its position in AMETEK by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 897,056 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $132,549,000 after buying an additional 4,556 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 11.6% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,637 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 161.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 44,684 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,368,000 after purchasing an additional 27,562 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,275,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in AMETEK by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME traded up $3.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,065,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.59. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.89 and a 1-year high of $186.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $179.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.94. The firm has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.21.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.51, for a total value of $2,938,308.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,138,983.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.51, for a total transaction of $2,938,308.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,138,983.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.59, for a total transaction of $252,826.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,054 shares in the company, valued at $5,066,271.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758 over the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on AMETEK from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AMETEK from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.78.

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.