RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 8,600 AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,600 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $171.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $182.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.03 and a 12-month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. AMETEK’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.91%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AME. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the 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 owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.