Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME – Get Rating) by 68.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 150,898 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 320,677 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $22,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 335,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,310,000 after acquiring an additional 54,900 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AMETEK by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,108,505 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $162,994,000 after acquiring an additional 27,803 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in AMETEK by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 575,027 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $84,552,000 after acquiring an additional 46,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd raised its holdings in AMETEK by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd now owns 612,032 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,993,000 after acquiring an additional 98,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.72% of the company’s stock.

In related news, Director Anthony James Conti sold 5,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.37, for a total transaction of $688,189.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.03, for a total value of $81,813.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

AME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of AMETEK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $134.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 19th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $155.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AMETEK in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $156.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.60.

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $117.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.26. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $114.37 and a one year high of $148.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.43.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The technology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 18.02%. The business’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 9th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.64%.

AMETEK Company Profile (Get Rating)

AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronic Instruments (EIG) and Electromechanical (EMG). 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; and instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets.

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