ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 4,809 Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,330 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AME. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,306 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 12.7% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 84,481 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,251,000 after acquiring an additional 9,510 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the first quarter worth approximately $591,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 45.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,974 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 41.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. 85.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $161.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $162.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.29.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $151.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.34. AMETEK, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.87 and a 1-year high of $164.75. The company has a market capitalization of $34.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.44.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The technology company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.05. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 13th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.73%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.37, for a total value of $250,979.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,117,246.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.37, for a total value of $250,979.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,117,246.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William Joseph Burke sold 33,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.29, for a total transaction of $5,438,639.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,339,481.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,140 shares of company stock valued at $5,940,876. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Profile

AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. 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.Its EMG segment offers engineered electrical connectors and electronics packaging to protect sensitive devices and mission-critical electronics; precision motion control products for data storage, medical devices, business equipment, automation, and other applications; high-purity powdered metals, strips and foils, specialty clad metals, and metal matrix composites; motor-blower systems and heat exchangers for use in thermal management, military, commercial aircraft, and military ground vehicles; and motors for use in commercial appliances, fitness equipment, food and beverage machines, hydraulic pumps, and industrial blowers.