AMETEK, Inc. $AME Stake Cut by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,463 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,529 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AMETEK by 1.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,997,665 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,885,497,000 after purchasing an additional 513,402 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AMETEK by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,637,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,743,966,000 after buying an additional 126,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,794,236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,044,009,000 after acquiring an additional 104,139 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in AMETEK by 22.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,254,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $769,890,000 after acquiring an additional 775,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its position in AMETEK by 0.4% in the second quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 3,785,676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $685,056,000 after acquiring an additional 15,610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE:AME opened at $224.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.72 and a 200-day moving average of $194.01. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $227.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The technology company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.13. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 20.50%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is 19.56%.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, CEO David A. Zapico sold 28,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.76, for a total value of $5,727,966.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total transaction of $1,309,859.40. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,534,885.80. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 137,088 shares of company stock valued at $27,212,340 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AME. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on AMETEK from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on AMETEK in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $271.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded AMETEK from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.82.

About AMETEK

AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications.

The company operates through two primary business platforms — an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions.