Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 428 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,503 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $1,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AME shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME stock opened at $180.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.66. AMETEK, Inc. has a one year low of $145.02 and a one year high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

AMETEK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.