Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $29.59 Million Stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 62.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,141 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 269,620 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $29,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter worth $3,724,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in AMETEK by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 142,093 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,009 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth about $999,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 434.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,614,000 after purchasing an additional 440,197 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $166.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.02 and a twelve month high of $198.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.08 and a 200-day moving average of $179.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. 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 presently 20.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.