Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 117,205 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 59.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,881 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,205 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $51,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AMETEK in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $179.85 on Wednesday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.12 and a 52-week high of $186.32. The stock has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $179.87 and its 200 day moving average is $164.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. AMETEK’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $141,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,891 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.38, for a total transaction of $1,277,453.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,993,641.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $141,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,881 shares of company stock worth $10,689,758 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.