Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,803,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,147,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,713,397,000 after buying an additional 282,208 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in AMETEK by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,956,329 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,614,468,000 after purchasing an additional 98,546 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 purchasing an additional 250,538 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in AMETEK by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,760,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,038,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AMETEK by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,526,369 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $993,546,000 after purchasing an additional 124,713 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 for the company. BNP Paribas raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $180.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.66.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.