KBC Group NV Purchases 1,763 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

KBC Group NV raised its position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,603 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $26,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,075,565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,294,121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in AMETEK by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,602,753 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,615,000 after purchasing an additional 926,657 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in AMETEK in the third quarter worth $130,579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after purchasing an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter valued at $60,188,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AMETEK Price Performance

AME opened at $193.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $196.70.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.04. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is 19.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AMETEK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Redburn Atlantic raised AMETEK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.59, for a total transaction of $250,521.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,454.91. This trade represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David F. Hermance sold 6,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.99, for a total value of $1,192,350.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,253.69. This trade represents a 14.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AMETEK

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.